The Emerald Price II
by Ash Darklighter
Summary: As chapter 31 will not load with the rest of the fic. This is the continuation of Luke and Mara's continuing dance.
1. Chapter 31

**The Emerald Price Chapter 31**

**By Ash Darklighter**

**Disclaimer:**- The characters and situations used in this story are the property of George Lucas and Lucasfilm Ltd. I am only using them for some entertainment and will not even make one Republican credit from this endeavour. This is set around eight to ten years after Luke and Mara met each other for the first time. This one is for all the girls on the AA list and of course for Mona – what would I do without you? My thanks also to Niqella and Rhea for their encouragement and invaluable suggestions.

**Elrood**

Mara sat next to Altra Adremetis in the back seat of their speeder with Feenus driving. She gazed about her without much interest as they left the spaceport. Most of the buildings in this area were dilapidated and run down. There wasn't much to see but Mara couldn't help the feeling that many eyes watched them as they left. She sighed inwardly. Perhaps she was becoming paranoid but this place still had the power to unnerve her.

"We live in the older part of the city," Altra confided. "We have a small apartment there. It's much nicer than the industrial sector and cheaper than the modern residential quarter."

"Oh." Mara couldn't think of anything else to say. She sat for a few more minutes letting the awkward silence build. Then she could stand it no longer. "Captain Adremetis…Mistress…"

"It's Altra and Feenus," the older woman said quietly. "Luke talked so much about you that I feel I know you already." There was another silence. Altra turned her head and began to study Mara closely. "You really are very lovely, Jedi Jade," Altra said suddenly. "I can see why he's in love with you."

Mara opened and shut her mouth, astonishment written across her face. This was not what she had expected at all from the conservatively dressed woman beside her. "He…_Luke_? Oh."

"But then you already have a lover. It's a pity."

"Altra!" Feenus objected loudly from the front seat. He groaned. His wife was one of the most sensible, level-headed women he knew but every so often she would suddenly turn…well, female in his opinion and blurt out the first thing that came into her head. They knew virtually nothing about this young woman except that the galaxy's foremost Jedi Knight had dropped everything to come after her.

"That is none of your business." Mara's tone was frosty. How did they know? Then it struck her – it was obvious. Luke had still thought that she was involved with Lando. Force, that seemed like years and years ago – almost another lifetime. How had she ever been so misguided as to let Karrde and Lando talk her into it?

"I did not mean to offend," Altra said. "But you did not see Luke's face when he was gripping that holo of you that he carries everywhere with him for grim death. He thought he was going to lose you for ever."

"He nearly did," Feenus muttered.

Altra pressed on, her voice urgent. "I wouldn't have liked to have seen what the effects of that loss would have done to him. He was desperate, Mara."

Luke carried a holo of her with him. Mara hadn't known that but she knew that he loved her. He had one of her in his quarters on Yavin IV but then, he had holos of all his friends and family. But he had one of her _with_ him. That was special. "I don't have a lover," she mumbled, her voice barely audible above the hum of the speeder's engine. It figured that Solo and Skywalker had come across this strange pair of humans. They were the kind of beings that Luke and the Corellian managed to collect on their travels about the galaxy. There was always somebody somewhere who could help.

"You don't have a lover?" Altra echoed.

"No."

"Well, you should. There's that poor man eating his heart out for you and you're not doing anything about it?"

"Steady on." Mara said coldly, holding up her hand. "Why should I? I manage quite well on my own."

Feenus smothered a bark of dark laughter but he didn't do it quite well enough and a choked sound emerged. Mara glared at the back of his head.

"Keep your mind out of the gutter," she snapped.

"You don't strike me as a typical Jedi," he said thoughtfully.

"You've known many?" Mara said sardonically. "When you were working for the Empire, Mr ex-Imperial soldier, the only Jedi in your vicinity was Darth Vader and he was more dark Sith Lord than Jedi. Jedi don't choke people for no reason. I haven't always been a Jedi." Mara gave a malicious grin.

"You haven't?" Altra asked.

"No, I used to be an assassin." She delivered the information in a matter of fact tone.

"What!"

"You heard me." Her lip curled. "I used to be an assassin for Emperor Palpatine himself and I can recognise an Imperially trained soldier a system away." Mara nodded towards the stiff back of Feenus Adremetis.

Disconcerted by Mara's candour, Altra sat back. "I thought you were a trader."

"I was but originally I was an assassin - a personal agent for Palpatine. I did his bidding. If he wanted someone dead then they were as good as."

Altra knew Mara was trying to shock her and she had succeeded. "And Luke is training you to be a Jedi?"

"Yes."

"Are there many assassins training to become knights?"

"As far as I can tell, I'm the first." Mara pointed at Feenus. "So why did he leave the Imperial fold?"

"There were many reasons. He didn't like what the Empire was doing," Altra answered.

"I know he speaks," Mara muttered, trying to get a rise out of the man. His sense reminded her of a thermal detonator all wired up and ready to blow.

"Slavery," Feenus said shortly, holding onto his irritation.

"Anything else?" asked Mara.

"Han Solo."

"We knew Han when _he_ was an Imperial soldier," Altra explained. "Feenus and Han were at the Academy together."

"Ah," Mara said. "Solo is too independent a man to have ever been the model Imp." She now had an idea how things had developed.

"Han has always been his own man. Not an easy thing to do and stick to it." She stretched out a hand towards her husband and shrugged. "I know someone else not too far away from me that is exactly the same."

"Some men seem to manage," Mara said almost to herself. She, too, knew someone who was his own man. 'Oh, _Luke_' she thought.

"How long have you been a Jedi?" Altra asked as Feenus turned the speeder into the older part of the city.

"I've always had the ability to touch the Force. It's only recently that I've made my total commitment to the Jedi Order. It was something I had to think deeply about – not a decision to be taken lightly. I'm not actually a Jedi Knight yet. This is the final part of my training."

"It was after you recovered from what happened out here a year ago."

"Yes. That played a major part in my decision to take the final step. I vowed never to be caught out like that again. But Luke's been hounding me for years about it."

"I would imagine he's difficult to say no to."

"In some ways but our early history was not as friends. I used to find it all too easy to say 'no' to Luke. He was my enemy and I wanted to kill him. I failed." She gave a self-deprecating smile. "Sometimes he makes me so angry that I still want to kill him."

Altra grinned. "That's because he's a man, Jedi Jade. It goes with the y chromosomes."

"For me it was a matter of pride. He would ask and I would say no. I did not need the Jedi. I had been taught too long to hate them – how could I hate what I was myself?" she finished in a whisper, her words lost beneath the speeder's engine.

"Ah, pride…" Altra jerked her head in the direction of her husband. "It's a common fault."

Mara nodded. "A hard one to break. But my decision to become a Jedi had to be based on more than my experience out here. It is a lifetime commitment."

"Yes, I can see that." Altra smoothed a wrinkle from the fabric of her uniform-like outfit and then seemingly out of the blue began to encroach even more into areas that Mara considered to be very private. "So you don't have a lover any more?"

"Why are you so interested in my business?" Mara demanded, feeling exasperated.

"I like Luke," was the answer.

"For some strange reason a lot of people like him. Me…"

Altra shook her head. "Don't dismiss him," she said thinking that Mara would make another smart but derogatory comment about the man who had gone out of his way to save her life.

"I'm not…Luke is my friend."

"Well, treat him as if he is. You are quick to mock and that can be hurtful. Does Luke know that it's a defence mechanism? I see it in others around me and therefore I recognise it in you."

"Now hold on a minute…" Mara began to say angrily.

Altra cut her off. "I helped you once before. You may not remember much about it but… You owe me some answers. I'm not asking for blood."

Mara's mouth flattened. The woman had a point. Once she might have dispatched her for her temerity…in her old life. Things were different now. "My relationship with my former associate had been set up for business purposes. It never really existed at all. It was a cover."

"A _cover?_" Altra sighed. She remembered the naked pain on the Jedi's face. "Luke thought it was real."

"He was meant to." Mara's voice was defensive. "What kind of a cover would it be if everyone saw through it?"

"You could still have told Luke. He can surely keep a secret."

"What good would it have done?" Mara said bitterly. The fake relationship with Lando hadn't been her idea. Perhaps if Luke had stopped avoiding them she might have told him.

"It stopped him from getting too close," Altra guessed sagely.

"I've just met you today!" Mara exclaimed. "Don't you think you are a little too personal with your questions and opinions?"

"Didn't you nearly die not too long ago? No one could have asked you any questions then. You wouldn't have been alive to care." Altra countered neatly.

Feenus chuckled. "My wife is a clever woman, Jedi Jade. Don't underestimate her."

"I never underestimate anyone," Mara said, although she wondered if that was true. As she stared into the narrowing streets a shiver ran down her spine. "How exactly did Skywalker get me out?"

Altra frowned "Get you out? Oh…you mean how did he rescue you?" She twisted her head around to look at Mara. "He hasn't told you?"

"Bits and pieces," she said. "It's like getting money out of a Hutt."

"Damn near impossible, huh?" asked Feenus. "I always knew these Jedi types could be close-mouthed." He chuckled darkly. "He dressed up as a psychotic prince from a neighbouring system. This guy…Aesophas… wanted to buy slaves for his Tellen mines and Solo played the part of his long-suffering aide. I thought he was going to give the Corellian a heart attack a couple of times. Skywalker really had him going. They can both think on their feet." His last comment was said with a hint of unwilling admiration.

"Skywalker picked a real guy? Of course, he would have to," Mara corrected herself. "It's too easy to disprove otherwise. Keep the fiction as close to fact as possible. Less chance of making a mistake." It was something she had chanted to herself on many occasions. It had saved her life. "Skywalker and Solo were both leaders during the Rebellion. I suspect that can help with the playacting. Whatever the impression they can sometimes give you, they are hardly amateurs."

"The likeness was frightening," Feenus admitted. "Thank whatever deity watches over us that it was a resemblance only. The real Prince Aesophas is a menace. I now have people watching him just in case he does need workers for his mines. He's not getting slave labour if I have anything to say about it." He checked at a deserted crossroad. "We're not far from our apartment now," he said as he turned the speeder into another winding alley.

"Good…" she said, her mind busy. "And Luke? How…? He arrives and immediately strikes it lucky?"

"That's about it. We came across him and Han in the middle of a pitched fight between the local bullies and one of the city district communities - the one next to ours in fact. A swoop gang in the pay of the slaving syndicate were threatening to take a young boy from his grandmother."

"And Luke dived in. That rescue complex he has." Mara shook her head despairingly. She was going to have to keep a closer eye on her man. And he _was_ hers. She just had to convince him of that.

"We'd been trying to set up a meeting with the leader of the syndicate for months and your Jedi Master friend wangles it in one day."

"With some help from Han," Altra put in."

"And yourselves," Mara concluded. You had the background knowledge. They couldn't have done it without you and I thank you for that."

"If we hadn't helped, Skywalker would have busted you out of there single-handedly and ruined most of our operation. We had no choice," Feenus snapped.

Mara's face held a resigned expression. "He has a save the world, save a damsel in distress, hell, save anyone complex."

"Luckily for you," Feenus retorted.

"Yeah, but one of these days he's going to get himself killed."

"He walked in there, cool as a night on Hoth and bought you as a pleasure slave," Altra said. "He was most convincing."

"He had to be," Feenus admitted. "Or we were all dead."

"He kept that part quiet," Mara muttered, "the big woolly-brained bantha. _Pleasure slave_ – hah!" But again she saw in her mind the wintry pale blue eyes coming closer and a shiver ran through her body. She wasn't sure if it was anticipation or revulsion – the eyes had been cold. But the little stray thought lingered. 'Luke…_pleasure?_ Oh yes.'

Altra smiled sympathetically. "That was the only time I saw his mask slip a little bit and no one else noticed apart from Han. When he kissed you…"

"Kissed…" Mara exclaimed quietly. "Oh, hell."

"Yeah," Feenus said sardonically. "It was all very romantic until you turned and punched him in the mouth."

"I hit him?" Mara moaned. "Shit."

"Hard," Feenus put in with relish. "Blood trickling down his chin. What a mess. You have an effective right hook."

"He was okay about it," Altra reassured the Jedi woman.

"He would be," she muttered irritably and then glanced at Altra. "I made him bleed?"

"Oh yes. It must have hurt," Feenus said.

"Stang," she swore and resisted the impulse to put her head in her hands. Mara wondered if Luke perhaps doubted the welcome she would give him in her arms. Was that the reason he shied from offering her his love. He thought she might hit him again? She knew she had his love but then, Luke didn't know how she felt. She had to tell him.

"Luke's presence distracted the syndicate and we were able to plant trackers, bugs and metal corroding droids that can eat through struts and supports and weaken the fabric of the building. He got us inside. We could do nothing otherwise."

"I used to use those devices myself," Mara admitted, recovering. Here she was on familiar ground. Discussing Skywalker and the way he made her feel was new territory whereas infiltration and sabotage were common every day procedures. "Most effective," she said with satisfaction, her eyes appearing vividly green all of a sudden. "So, you were an Imperial soldier."

"I was, and a good one," Feenus said quietly. "Yes, my training gave me the ability to be able to destroy the place very soon after we'd visited. I do not regret that training."

"I know."

"What I regret is not knowing, then, the truth behind that Imperial ideology. I do now."

"Good," Mara muttered as her nerves began to prickle. She knew that feeling - it had never let her down before. Something was wrong. Mara reached out into the Force, finding the source of the trouble and inadvertently touching a familiar presence far closer than he should have been. As she did so, her eyes widened. "I might have known…" She should have been surprised but she wasn't. "We're being followed," she hissed, trying to look as if nothing was wrong. "And it's not just by some of our friends."

"Damn!" Feenus muttered.

Mara's hand slipped beneath her cloak reaching for the comforting feel of her lightsaber. "You must have really upset someone today."

"We exist," Feenus quipped, showing Mara for the first time why he'd once been a friend of Han Solo's. "They're not showing up on the scopes yet."

"How can you tell?" Altra asked.

"Part of it is through my sensitivity to the Force." Mara's glance scanned the surrounding buildings. "My danger sense is highly developed through past experience. I've learned not to ignore it." She looked across at Altra and found her expertly wielding a top of the range blaster pistol.

"Yes, I _can_ use it. At least we have a little time to prepare."

Mara grinned; even through she could feel the adrenaline begin to pump its way through her body. "Just checking."

Feenus pressed his foot harder on the accelerator increasing their speed. "I should have known that Belfro would find some way to remove us from the talks. But I never thought that he would be quite this direct."

"He must be worried," Mara concluded thoughtfully.

Feenus gave a grunt of assent. "He would say tomorrow that we didn't turn up because we were not interested in co-operating with the official security group."

"And are you?"

"Of course. We know far more about the habits of the slavers than they do. Our problem is that we do not have enough system-wide resources to do it alone. We need each other. It's as simple as that." He flicked a switch on the control panel. "Miko?"

"On our way," the tinny, disembodied voice answered.

"How did they…?" Feenus muttered trying to steer and grope for his blaster pistol at the same time.

Altra was meanwhile digging in a black canvas bag at her feet. "Thermal detonators," she said.

"You carry thermal detonators with you?" Mara asked.

"Yes. I also have extra power packs, spare ammunition…"

"I get the holo," Mara murmured. She stretched out with the Force seeking the presence she had just found to be nearer than it should have been. Luke Skywalker was not on Yavin IV where she had left him. He was here on Elrood. "Oh… and I think we may have extra help." She sighed. He had to interfere. Him and his save the galaxy complex again.

_'No, sweetheart,'_ his voice sounded loud and clear through their bond. For once he wasn't trying to hide its strength. _'I'm nowhere near enough to your current position to help. You are on your own. I think you should manage. Feenus and Altra strike me as the type who are prepared for any emergency. This is their territory and they know it well. The rest of the Adremetis' people are on their way. Watch who you are shooting at. Check if they are friend or foe.'_

_'Thanks for nothing, Skywalker,' _Mara sent back. _'For once, Jedi, I could have done with your help.'_

Mara could see his warm smile in her mind's eye and he'd called her 'sweetheart'. His brother-in-law used that endearment for his wife. _'For once, Jade?'_ he queried. _'You wound me.'_

_'Nerf,' _Mara retorted. _'But I'm not alone, farmboy – never alone. I have the Force.' _Suddenly her world brightened as, for just an instant, she could almost feel the light caress gently on her cheek.

'_The right answer, Knight Jade. Be careful.'_

_'That's funny coming from you, bacta boy.'_

'_Please, Mara.'_ A hint of worried, loving concern revealed itself.

_'Sure,' _she replied. _'I'll be careful.' _She felt him withdrawing from her, raising his shields. She felt the loss but knew he was only doing it so that she could concentrate on what she had to do.

Then the sound of another speeder alerted them to the fact that they were definitely no longer alone.

Mara grasped her saber in her hand and looked at Altra. "May the Force be with us."

"It will be," the older woman said, her blaster clutched tightly in her hand. "It has to be."

"The rest of my people are not far away," Feenus said reassuringly. "Beridor must have sent them."

"No." Mara shook her head. "It was Luke."

Luke frowned as he followed Beridor into the dim interior of the Merry Pirate's main room. Mara would be okay. He wasn't surprised that she'd discovered his presence on Elrood. It was inevitable with the strength of the link that had forged between them. Luckily he and Beridor had arranged to have some extra security for Feenus and Altra. Their own people would provide the safest guard. They knew the territory. He wished he was there to safeguard Mara but knew that she didn't need him. Force, he wished that she did but in another way entirely.

"How did you get on with Altra and Feenus yesterday?" Beridor asked.

"What?" Luke mumbled, his face a picture of concern.

"They'll be all right," Beridor reassured him. "Feenus has trained his people well - Imperial Academy on Raithal and all that - and he has your lady with them. She's a trained Jedi too."

"She is. Feenus and Altra were surprised to see me at first." Luke said with a faint smile. "They're not certain about the outcome of these talks at all. They think the sabacc deck has been loaded against them."

"Probably has." Beridor stared around him at the rest of the room. "Corruption in high places isn't restricted to the Core."

"I never thought it was," Luke said wryly. "In fact, it is easier to perpetrate out here. The Rebellion drew much of its strength from many of the worlds out on the Rim."

"Come on, I need to show you some things. It may be what we need to make some of the politicians listen to us." Quickly he led Luke to a side door. "Mal'orch has a place through the back that we use when we need it."

"Phew," Luke exclaimed, waving his hand in front of his face glad to be out of the smoky environment and ran a quick purification of his systems, removing the unwelcome toxins from his blood.

"There are people here who don't want to be seen," Beridor said with a knowing smile.

"I've used that way of hiding on a number of occasions myself but I must admit to not liking smoky atmospheres." He sighed. "Now show me what you have. I get the feeling that time is against us."

Beridor moved to an ancient computer and began tapping away at the keyboard and it began unwillingly spouting figures. "This is what we have on the members of the ruling party. Prime Minister Belfro _was_ very friendly with General Raitt. They met together on a number of occasions…even socially." He touched the screen gently with a long thin finger and a list of files began to scroll down in front of them. "Then there is the…"

"Raitt!" Luke interrupted as he thought for a minute. "The ex-imperial general in charge of the slaving syndicate?"

"Yeah, that's the bastard. He died before he could be brought to justice for all the crimes he committed."

"And you think he was 'friendly' with the prime minister?"

"I do but the proof I have is circumstantial. It's not enough." He pushed a set of holos in Luke's direction. They showed the thin, cruel face of Raitt smiling and shaking hands with the prime minister at some sort of dinner.

Luke ran his experienced eyes over the data and pointed at a couple of transactions. Those look suspicious to me." He ran his feelings through his Force senses and those two sets of figures sang out as being the important ones.

"We downloaded those from the computers they didn't manage to wipe at the syndicate headquarters. As soon as we moved in they got rid of most of the evidence."

"But not all," Luke said with a smile in his voice. "Can your people source just these two figures? I know we have little time but…"

"No. Although I say that we didn't find much it would take us too long to check every single record. I think we've only managed to get through about five percent of what we actually found. This would really help us if you've struck lucky."

"There's no such thing as luck," Luke managed to say. He wanted to reach out and see how Mara was faring. In fact he wanted to do more than that. He wanted to wave his hand and wave away all her problems. But it wasn't his place to do so and she would not thank him for it despite what she'd said. She had to manage this on her own.

Beridor, picked up a comlink and spoke rapidly into it. When he was finished he turned to Luke. "One of the guys is good with information like we have here. As I said, there was just too much to wade through. We've been making slow progress."

"Check these two." He pointed again at the two sets of data, his fingers lightly grazing the screen. "My Force instincts tell me these are the ones you need."

"Right." Beridor gabbled something quickly into the com using a language Luke was not familiar with. "I've just sent those particular files through to our best slicer."

"Good. We haven't much time."

"It will be enough. I wonder how the talks went today?"

"I think they had their ups and downs," Luke said thoughtfully. "I was monitoring from afar but I can't do it too closely or the other Jedi will know that I'm here. Mara has already discovered that I'm not where she left me."

"They don't know that you're here?"

"Two of them do, the leader of the Jedi delegation and now Mara – the others…no. "Actually…" Luke's face was rueful. "Jedi Ix Io, is the only member of the Jedi delegation who doesn't know. Well, he'll find out soon enough."

"Why aren't you in charge of the talks?"

"Governments cannot expect me to deal with every problem. The galaxy is too vast an expanse. The other Jedi need experience."

"Why did you tell, Jade?"

"I didn't but she has just found out that I'm here. Mara and I are too strongly connected through the Force. She can feel my presence if I'm near. My shields weren't strong enough. It shows I Have work to do of my own."

"The tall woman with the rather fierce stare? I saw her on the holonet."

"Kirana Ti of Dathomir."

"One of the witches? I've heard of them. I thought they dressed in lizard skins and rode rancors? I would like to see one of those. I've heard about them – fearsome beasts so they say."

"Some of them do but it would be rather impractical to have a rancor here and they can be quite awe-inspiring." Luke's voice was dry.

"And Mara?" Recognition dawned across Beridor's thin face. "Your lady," he said with satisfaction. "She's very beautiful. You're a lucky man."

Luke wondered if denying Mara belonged to him was worthwhile any more. No-one seemed to believe him. "Yes, I am," he whispered. He knew that everyone had got it wrong. He couldn't own a beautiful thing like Mara Jade. With one glance from her fascinating green eyes, Mara had captured him. He belonged to her, body and soul, and always would.

Mara felt the immediate danger and with the snap-hiss familiar to all Jedi ignited her saber, the blue blade fizzing into life. For a moment Feenus and Altra just stared until a shot whistled too close to them. "Wake up," Mara screamed, her saber blocking and parrying the fire.

"Stang!" Feenus swore as he stepped on the accelerator pedal and the speeder flew around a corner into what Mara hoped wasn't a dead end. It looked like one.

"We're trapped in here!" Mara exclaimed.

"No," Altra answered standing up, a holo-imager in her hands. "We're not."

Mara froze. The woman was actually taking holos at a time like this? "What are you doing?" she screeched. "Get down for sith's sake. We have to get out of here."

"And we will, said Altra, throwing the holo-imager onto the floor of the vehicle and picking up her blaster again. "We have rooms in the building behind us and there is a narrow lane over there. We have an escape route."

"All we need is a little more time," Feenus muttered, killing the engine. "Altra, a detonator…" he said and grabbed a thermal detonator from his wife. "Thanks." He lobbed the sphere towards their attackers. There was a bright burst of fire as the detonator exploded.

Mara blinked as she slipped her wrist blaster from its usual hiding place and blasted off a couple of shots before replacing it and taking up her saber again. The Jedi had won over the assassin but she would never give up her favourite blaster. Luke would never expect her to. With an air of satisfaction, Mara jerked up her saber to meet a volley of blaster fire as if it was directed where she willed it in slow motion. She sank deeper into the Force and could almost predict where her weapon needed to be.

Feenus flicked open his com and began shouting into it. "Where are you?"

A burst of static could be heard and then a voice yelling something in return.

"Where are they?" Altra asked crouching behind the speeder as she fired off a volley of rapid fire.

"Down!" ordered Mara, her saber snapping up in front of where Altra had been sending the shot spinning harmlessly into the permacrete surface of the road.

"Next street," her husband answered. "Some of them are going to circle around and come up behind the prime minister's little _friends_." He chuckled darkly. "The others will cover our get away. Right, when I give the signal, Altra go. The lane is clear. After that, Jedi Jade…"

"No." Mara contradicted him. "Then _you_ go. I can look after myself." She stretched out through the Force. "I promised myself that I would never be taken against my will again. These Forces were not expecting you to be accompanied by one of the Jedi. There is much confusion and consternation in their ranks. Have you by any chance got a smoke bomb?"

Feenus nodded. "Yes, Ma'am." He passed Mara a round object rather like one of the thermal detonators and watched as she accurately lobbed it straight into the centre of their foes rendering them almost blind. He raised his own blaster and aimed a few more shots into the confusion ahead. "Altra…"

His wife nodded and slipped into the narrow lane and disappeared. A few moments later, Feenus did the same. Mara grabbed the remaining bag of ammunition - no sense leaving it for the wrong person to find - and followed the other two into the gap between the buildings.

Thankfully the lane was short and twisting providing immediate cover from any remaining fire and at the other end she was greeted by the sight of Feenus and Altra surrounded by a phalanx of men and women in grey uniforms exactly like the ones they were wearing. It paid to know your territory and these people did.

"Did you get anything?" a dark haired man asked urgently.

"I think so." Altra held up her holo-imager. "Sometimes I wonder about the intelligence of the ruling party, Miko. They were wearing official uniforms."

"And you have a clear image," the man persisted.

Altra shrugged. "I cannot say yet how clear."

"This is Jedi Mara Jade," Feenus said. "She's here on behalf of the New Republic to oversee the talks."

"Jedi Jade," one of the others acknowledged. "We must thank you for your help."

"Sure," Mara said, embarrassed at being thanked for doing so little. "But I'm here on behalf of the Jedi. We are a separate body from the New Republic. We are acting as independent arbiters." She gave a quick scan of the surroundings. "Should we not go inside?"

_'Mara…are you all right?'_

_'I'm fine, farmboy. Your charges are safe.'_

_'What about you?'_

_'Stop worrying, Luke. I'm fine…we're all fine. I'll see you tomorrow.'_

_'We're meeting at the Merry Pirate…'_

_'I'd better stay with Feenus and Altra…just in case.'_

She felt his disappointment. _'I thought…'_

_'Goodnight, Luke,' _Mara sent back and then stared up at the darkening sky. Luke had sounded hopeful. Did he want to see her tonight? She would think about it. First, she had to make sure Altra and Feenus were safe. "I really do suggest that we get inside. They may return with friends."

Miko nodded. "Knight Jade is right, boss. They may be foolish enough to come back for more."

Altra dismissed her comrades with a brief nod. "This way, Mara." She led the way through some narrow streets, doubling back in case they were still being followed but Mara couldn't sense anything. They were safe.

"We live here," Altra said, pointing to a well kept building. "Top floor." She turned to look at Feenus. "Do you think that they know where we…"

Mara stretched out once more but could sense nothing. "Its fine," she reassured the older woman. "I cannot sense any other surprises waiting for you. I suspect that this is a last ditch attempt to derail your involvement in this part of the treaty talks."

"Come on," Feenus urged. "I want to get inside. We must check the holo-imager. It was a good idea, Altra, if a little dangerous."

Altra's grey-green eyes warmed and she chuckled lightly. "We need all the proof we can get."

"I agree," Mara said

Mara smiled and followed the couple as they led their way into a quiet hall and entered the turbolift to the topmost floor and the comfortable apartment they inhabited. "Make yourself at home," Feenus said brusquely. "I must check in with Beridor."

"He knows we're safe," Mara said. "I spoke to Luke."

"How…?"

"We can communicate through the Force."

"Of course, I should have known."

"Beridor is with Luke?" Altra nodded. "It makes sense."

There was no time for pleasantries but Mara did manage to take in the impression of a warm and attractive home. There was something about it that reminded her of the quarters she shared on Yavin IV with Luke. She could feel the love around her; she thought with a bittersweet smile and envied its openness.

"Go to the study with Feenus," Altra urged, removing her uniform jacket and throwing it carelessly on the sofa. "I'll go and make us something to eat. It won't be anything fancy."

"That's okay," Mara murmured. "'Anything' will be fine. Luke says I exist on ration bars. He's always trying to get me to eat something that's not been reconstituted with the texture of cardboard."

"Ah, the joy of ration bars," Feenus said, his smile sardonic as he took the holo-imager from his wife's hands. "The Empire never did manage to get those to taste appetising."

"Neither did the New Republic," Mara said, her face twisting into a scowl of distaste. "I don't mind them really but…"

"It's not real food, is it? Altra is a good cook when she has the time and she enjoys it." Feenus looked at the holo-imager and winced at the damage to the case. "I only hope we have something we can use in here but I'm doubtful." However his mood changed when he saw the flashing light on his communications console. "That's Beridor's signal."

Feenus slid into his chair and began swiftly flicking switches. The monitor switched on revealing a thin faced man, his features almost skeletal, dominated by a pair of large, dark eyes. "Beridor? What news?"

"We have them, my friend. We have them." His smile split his bony face, altering his normally severe appearance completely.

Kirana Ti stalked around the suite which had been reserved for the Jedi. She'd read the transcripts of the previous two days. "The prime minister wants to ally with the New Republic but is not prepared to compromise on certain issues."

Ix Io was pragmatic. "He must have been involved with the slaving syndicate. Oh, perhaps not obviously but a handout here and there. A few little luxuries in return for that blind eye. It is often the way bureaucracy works."

"Can we prove it?"

"I don't know. This will not be resolved today, next week or even next year."

"For a being raised on a planet that shuns the outside world, how can you be so sure?"

"We have politicians and civil servant personnel on Nazzar also. They are inward looking even more than these people are. They are also xenophobic. The beings from worlds in the Kathol Rift are egalitarian in that they don't mind what species they enslave but it is less likely to be humans. Mara was lucky to survive."

"Yes, I agree."

"We need to talk to Lady Winter," Ix Io decided, "…and hopefully Mara has talked to the beings forming the anti-slaving group."

"Good idea. I would like to see what Lady Winter's opinion is." Kirana Ti reached for her cloak and as she did so, her comlink chirruped softly. "Yes?"

"Who is it?" asked the Nazzar.

"It is Mara." The Dathomirian's voice caught in her throat as she exclaimed, "They did what!"

"Trouble?" Ix Io asked tersely.

"Some. Mara, can you send…? You can. Okay. And you are staying with Captain Adremetis for the time being? Good." Kirana flicked off her comlink. "Mara has information that we need to deliver to Lady Winter and the rest of the New Republic delegation. She's sending it to us now."

"Mara's alright?"

"Government forces attacked Captain Adremetis and his wife!" Kirana Ti declared. "I suspected interference but I did not really think that…"

"You were wise to send Mara with them," Ix Io declared. "Do they have proof? We cannot just accuse…"

"They have pictures of their attackers who were so confident of their success that they tried to ambush them in daylight."

The Nazzar sighed. "I hate to put a damper on things but anyone can don a uniform. As I said, we need names as well as images."

"Are you sure you didn't study law in a former life?" Kirana Ti said, amazed. The tall alien was proving to be constantly full of surprises.

"Well…I have studied many subjects on Nazzar. I did earn a business degree and part of that had some galactic law included."

"I sometimes wonder if the Old Republic had it wrong when they took their recruits from the cradle. Life experience can be a useful thing – a business degree!" she muttered. The Jedi woman moved to her communications console and slipped a disc into one of the slots.

"Is that Mara's information?"

"Yes – that's it." Kirana Ti slipped the disc into a pocket on her tunic. "Come on – we're going out."

"We will be being watched."

"Of course we'll be watched. That's why I sent word to Lady Winter to meet us elsewhere."

"Call our…minders and ask if they can take us sightseeing. I fancy a stroll around part of the Elrood Bazaar."

"Of course," Ix Io's long face showed his amusement. "I believe it is rightly famous throughout the entire galaxy…and very large."

"Easy to lose oneself in?"

"Definitely."

Winter Celchu knew enough about galactic politics to span several lifetimes and she knew not to relax just yet. None of the proceedings that had taken place in the debating chamber at government House had surprised her. Worlds this far out on the rim were too used to dealing with matters in their own way. The Empire had considered them too far away from the Core to be useful other than as a prison world or a source of cheap, slave labour or resources.

It was telling that such worlds had bred many of the Rebellion's finest.

The click on her comlink was enough to alert her that Kirana Ti wanted a meeting away from the holo-cameras and hidden listening devices installed in her suite. Winter had located them within minutes of her being installed in this room. It was almost expected that she would be monitored. Thankfully the New Republic, once rebel, techs had several ways of disrupting such annoyances.

Winter gathered her clothes together and retreated to the 'fresher. It was the only place without any surveillance equipment. She gave a wry smile. At least the ruling government on Elrood allowed her some privacy. She pulled off her flowing gown and dressed quickly in a simple tunic and pants of dark blue. Pulling her white hair away from her face, she braided it tightly and secured it with a band.

Moving back into the bedroom, Winter placed a necklace around her neck and made it seem that she was preparing for bed, going as far as pulling down the bedclothes. With deft hands she fiddled with the teardrop shaped pendant and all the monitors went blank just for a moment. When the pictures resumed it appeared to any observers that Lady Winter Celchu was fast asleep.

Winter left the room and avoided the turbolift to slip down the back stairs and out into the warm evening air. For people who had spent years on the run, Winter and her staff found it relatively easy to leave the hotel undetected.

"Ma'am?"

Winter smiled at her two most trusted security guards. "No problems, Cruden. Evening, Flalik. I left a 'me' shape in the bed. Most convincing I assure you. There's no need to be anxious."

"Anxious, Ladyship?" the Talz murmured. It was difficult to tell if he was amused or not. "We have left Sertes and Johnson to act as decoy guard. They have taken their usual positions outside your suite."

"Where are we headed?" asked Cruden - a burly, stoic human who was prepared to put up with whatever foibles his mistress had. Over the years he had learned to trust her instincts.

"We're heading back to the spaceport. A rundown cantina, I believe, is our destination."

"Why can't we meet in some nice café?" Cruden asked. "In daylight."

"Because that's where I might be expected to go. A lady like me wouldn't dream of going to these low-down places."

"I must remember to tell Colonel Celchu that one," retorted the Talz, placing Winter's cloak around her shoulders.

"It's probably no worse than the one he'll be sitting in right this minute with the rest of his cronies. And I'll be sober."

"I suppose that could be true."

"Trust me. I know my husband and it is none of his business what I do with my spare time."

"I think the Colonel might disagree with you on that one."

"He can disagree all he likes. It won't make any difference."

**The Merry Pirate**

With a sigh Mal'orch scratched the persistent itch that had been bothering him all evening. First Beridor had arrived with the blue-eyed man he'd met with a couple of days previously claiming that this was a Jedi knight. He could be - but the bartender wasn't totally convinced. He seemed rather ordinary and low key to be such a being. The silver cylinder hanging from his waist could be a lightsaber but it could be anything. Unless he saw it in action he had no real proof. Now another two strangers had arrived, both discreetly wearing similar objects shaped like lightsabers.

Beridor had peered over the bar, his black eyes sparkling, and then nodded vigorously. So Mal'orch had discreetly signalled to the two and had led them to join Beridor and the Jedi Knight in the back room.

"We're waiting for a lady. She has two bodyguards with her."

"A lady?" he queried. "Here?"

"This is a good place to meet. No one suspects here. This is the last place a lady would go to."

"Whatever."

Sure enough, a matter of minutes later, the woman had arrived with her two minders.

Beridor eased through the crowd of spacers all enjoying a little down time before their next job. "My lady?" he said. "We're through the back. It's better there. Would you like a drink?"

"I'll have a glass of lum," she said to the barman.

Mal'orch's eyes bulged in surprise. "Lum, my lady?"

"I like it. I got used to it a long time ago. This kind of place almost seems like home," Winter said with a wistful gleam in her smoky grey eyes. "It's hard to explain but I like lum and the cloudier the better. The places I go these days don't always serve it."

So the bemused bartender had delivered a large pitcher of cloudy lum to the strange assortment of people in the back room and left them to whatever concerns they were discussing.

The first surprise was for Ix Io when Luke was found to be amongst them. "Master Skywalker!" he exclaimed."Did you know about this?" he asked Kirana Ti.

"Yes," she said. "Master Skywalker told me about it before we left."

"Just in case," Luke murmured. "But you're handling this fine so far – both of you." He looked at Kirana Ti as he said this and she smiled. "Over to you, Kirana."

Kirana Ti took control of the meeting. "Welcome. This is not how we would have preferred to meet but at least we can air our suspicions and reveal any findings."

"Our rooms are being watched both inside and out," Ix Io said. "I know I half expected this but it was still a surprise. Kirana Ti decided that I should return to our ship after the meeting instead of going to the hotel. I have been monitoring various transports entering and leaving the system. Several of them contained slaves although one of the spaceport security guards tells me that such traffic has slowed down over the last few months."

"There was no attempt to stop it?" asked Kirana Ti. "Of course, there wouldn't be. It's not illegal in this sector."

Beridor's thin face lit up. "Numbers are down? _Yes!_ Since the headquarters of the syndicate were destroyed, slaving in this system has been hit badly. They have set up their bases elsewhere now – it is to be expected. I want to make it so difficult for them that they cannot do it anywhere in this entire sector."

"I agree," Winter said firmly.

Kirana Ti sipped at her glass. "I received word from Mara not long ago. I sent her with Captain Adremetis and his wife. First of all, they helped her when she was here on Elrood once before and she wanted to talk to them about it and second, and more important, we felt that their lives were endangered after the scene this afternoon. They were ambushed near their home but managed to rout their attackers with Mara's help. No one was hurt."

"They are seen as a real threat to the existence of a way of life that has gone on for many years," Ix Io said thoughtfully. "Corruption can be found in the highest of offices."

"I wish that were not so," Winter said. "But it happens. Do we have proof?"

While the discussions had been taking place, Luke had been standing next to a fairly modern looking com centre. "Information coming through," he said.

Beridor jumped up and began scanning through the files being shown on the vid-screen. "We have them!" he declared. "The files all correspond to times and places and the names are not insignificant."

"Good," Luke said, a smile breaking across his face as he studied the data. "This looks like exactly what we need."

"There's more," the tall humanoid said with satisfaction. "Altra took holo-images of their assailants…" He stared at the others. "It must have been during the fight. She's a cool headed lady – too much so for her own good sometimes. We have managed to corroborate their identities with beings employed by the ruling party."

"Even better," said Ix Io.

"I have spoken to the leader of the opposing party, Count Moso Doffrio," Kirana Ti volunteered. "He has been briefed about the situation and if Lady Winter is willing, we are to meet with him tomorrow morning."

"Good," Winter said briskly. "He will arrange to deal with Prime Minister Belfro?"

"You mean ex-prime minister," said Kirana Ti, with a glance at Luke who nodded.

"Yes, it's a good idea," he said mildly.

"Ix Io has declared himself happy to work with Count Doffrio."

"I am happy to work with whoever is the best for Elrood but I am going to see the Count very shortly." The Nazzar checked his wrist chrono. "He is sending a vehicle to collect me in an hour. We will meet with Lady Winter and Kirana Ti tomorrow morning. Count Doffrio and I are to have a discussion with the chief of the planetary security. If Belfro is to be removed from office, it has to be done within a legal framework."

"Good, everything's settled then," declared Winter.

Luke shifted restlessly and then a smile crossed his face. "Mara!"

The door slid open and Mara walked in. "I thought I was missing the party."

"There is no party," Ix Io declared.

Mara glanced at Luke and stifled a grin. "It's just a figure of speech." Honestly, the Nazzar was going to have to unbend a little if he was to make his way in the real universe.

"Ah, I see." His long equine face brightened. "What about Captain Adremetis and his wife? They are unhurt?"

Mara grinned. She'd left the couple in a flurry of preparations. Feenus now felt they had a real chance. "Preparing their deputation for tomorrow. They didn't need me for that. Some of your people arrived to aid them so they also have protection."

Luke pulled out a chair for Mara beside him and pushed an empty glass in her direction. "Here." He grabbed the large jug and poured it splashily into her glass. "Have a glass of lum. I think you've earned it."

"Thanks," she replied sardonically as she slid into the chair. "If this had been a job for Karrde I would get paid, too." She licked one of the droplets off her finger and watched fascinated as Luke's eyes darkened.

"I can't quite promise that, Jade, but…"

Making a decision he knew was the right one. It was time. Luke stood up and raised his glass. Kirana Ti grinned and joined him. She had already guessed his intent.

"I would like to confer the rank of Jedi Knight on Mara Jade and Ix Io. May the Force be with them. May they continue to grow and learn."

The two new knights were speechless.


	2. Chapter 32

**The Emerald Price Chapter 32**

****

**By Ash Darklighter**

****

**Disclaimer:**- The characters and situations used in this story are the property of George Lucas and Lucasfilm Ltd. I am only using them for some entertainment and will not even make one Republican credit from this endeavour. This is set around eight to ten years after Luke and Mara met each other for the first time. This one is for all the girls on the AA list and of course for Mona – what would I do without you? My thanks also to Niqella and Rhea for their encouragement and invaluable suggestions.

**Luke Skywalker's Quarters - Yavin IV**

Luke palmed open the door of his quarters and stared inside. Mara was not there; he had left her on Elrood with the others. There had still been so many things to tidy up - most notably, the resignation of the disgraced Prime Minister and the swearing in of the new. It was amazing how scandal could be leaked so easily to the holo-press making the resignations inevitable. Count Doffrio was a good man and had the overwhelming support of the people. Feenus and Altra Adremetis had scarcely had time to themselves as they were whisked into setting up the monitoring system in conjunction with the Elrooden security force.

A couple of days later he had met them all in the back room of the Merry Pirate. "You've done well," he'd said to his team of Jedi knights, his gaze lingering warmly on Mara's creamy complexion.

"There are still things to complete," Kirana Ti said quietly.

"The treaty will take many months to finalize. It will take years to eradicate slaving in this sector – if you ever do at all. It is a lifetime task, Feenus."

"We will do what we have to," Feenus said. "We now have enough power to make a difference."

"I have agreed to stay and oversee any areas where there might be a need for a Jedi," Ix Io said, his deep voice slow. "Lady Winter will remain for another lunar month."

"Good," said Feenus. "These Jedi types can be useful to have around after all."

"And Mara?" Luke had asked.

"I will stay with the rest of delegation and will go back with Kirana Ti when the shuttle returns to Yavin IV." She'd given him a steady look and he wondered what she'd been thinking but her shields were tight. "Several slaving warehouses have been found. I will aid Beridor in trying to reunite some of these beings with their own kind."

He assumed Mara would return at some point as all her belongings were scattered around his home as if she belonged there – as if it were actually her home too. She _did_ belong there. Every part of his heart wanted her with him in his home and, if he were honest, in his bed. Everywhere he looked he could see traces of her presence even down to the cushions placed on his sofas at a jaunty angle. But she was finally free – she had become a Jedi Knight. There was nothing to keep her on Yavin now – no reason why she should want to remain with him. Luke's smile was sweet with warmth and longing as he remembered the surge in the Force at the moment of her knighting and her acceptance of its power within her.

She was gone now and he was alone again. He gave a shiver and pulled his robe around his body. Despite the warmth of the Yavin evening he felt chilled.

He had clasped her hand unable to say what he really felt as he had conferred the rank of Jedi Knight upon her. The expression in her jade green eyes had been almost more than he could bear. It wouldn't do for the Jedi Master to break down and cry in front of so many people that he knew. Tears were often regarded as a weakness and the way he felt was anything but weak. So he had tightened his fingers across hers and said nothing but she had known how proud he was.

Mara had watched him prepare to go, her heart in her eyes; she felt his mixture of pain and gladness and wondered at it. "Are you returning to Yavin?"

"Not immediately but I'll see you all soon," he said to the assembled company even though his eyes again sought out Mara. "I'm heading back to Coruscant before I return to Yavin. Winter will finish things here along with Kirana Ti while I must report back to the New Republic inner council." He turned towards Feenus and Altra Adremetis. "Be proud of what you have achieved," he commended, clasping the other man's hand. "It's not going to be easy. There will still be troubled times ahead but you have each other and a loyal band of friends." He grinned at Beridor who was almost jumping up and down with pleasure.

"Thanks, Luke," the formal imperial said warmly. "We may manage that visit to Coruscant soon. I would like to take Altra back to see her family."

"Feenus _is_ my family," she said, her voice warm. "And wherever he is I'll be happy but it would be wonderful to see the jewel of the Core Worlds once more. Luke…" Altra had glanced in Mara's direction. "She loves you," she whispered for his ears alone. "You deserve someone like her and she needs you."

The Jedi Master's blue eyes widened and he stared at Mara.

"Take a chance," she urged.

Luke sighed. "A chance? It seems so straightforward. We'll see." He gave her a warm hug and stepped back, watching with an indulgent smile as Altra moved to her husband, her arm curving around his waist with the confidence of one who knew that she was loved. She knew how lucky she was.

There was a general excited murmur as the celebratory mood caught on. Kirana Ti and the new Jedi Knights had been invited by the new Prime Minister to see some of Elrood's most famous sights. Luke thought it would be diplomatic to agree to the tour. He was eager for the official signing of the treaty but he knew that it would take several more meetings before things were thrashed out to all parties' satisfaction. Luke had no doubt that the treaty would become final in just a matter of weeks. He turned and slipped from the room believing that he had left unnoticed. But a pair of brilliant green eyes had watched him go.

'This is not finished, Skywalker,' she told herself. 'This will never be finished.'

**Coruscant**

Luke had been met at the spaceport by his sister and Han, then almost immediately was whisked away into a round of meetings and hastily scheduled public appearances which he suffered with an almost ill-concealed grace. The New Republic liked to show off their hero from time to time however reluctant he felt about such parading about. Luke had no reservations about sharing his displeasure with both his sister and Han in no uncertain terms.

For three days Han and Leia knew that Luke was in their apartment to sleep but little else – no time to meet and relax with the family he hadn't seen for months. They barely saw him. On the final evening of his stay they were all bidden to appear at an official state dinner. Luke had flatly refused to go but Leia had prevailed and, as usual, he had eventually given in. They would make an appearance and that would be all. Han wondered how much longer Luke would agree to cater to the whims of the New Republic elite.

Once the speeches had finished, Leia nodded pointedly at Han. It was their signal to go. The Jedi Master was ready to either drop or turn to the dark side. They made their farewells and escaped early.

"How is Mara, Kid?" Han asked once they'd returned to the Solo's apartment and settled into the comfortable lounge with a welcome drink. He slouched back in his favourite armchair and kicked off his stiff pair of boots. Now this was pleasant - his own chair and a glass of Corellian whisky at his elbow.

"A fully-fledged Jedi Knight now." Luke couldn't help his smile of pride. "It's what she should have been a long time ago."

"Good and…"

"I left her back on Elrood with the other Jedi. They're finishing up stage one of the proceedings."

"What!" Han almost exploded. "You left her where?"

"Back on Elrood. The government were showing them some of the sights."

"You _left_ Mara on Elrood."

"She's with the other Jedi. She's working, Han. There were some loose ends to tie up with the discussions."

"Luke, you left Mara on Elrood."

"She didn't complain. Besides, there wasn't room for her in my x-wing. This was Jedi business, not a pleasure jaunt."

"I don't believe you at times, Kid. You _left_ Mara on Elrood when she could have been with you."

"So you keep saying." Luke began to get exasperated. This shouldn't even be being discussed. "I did not abandon her. I flew out there in a one-man ship. She went with the others in the shuttle and she will return to Yavin with the others. What is your problem with that?"

"Luke, you're an intelligent man but sometimes I wonder if there's nothing more than rocks and sand between your ears. You're in love with her but you just left her and flew away."

"So!" Luke was deliberately uncomprehending. "I had business on Coruscant before I return to Yavin. What else could I do? My personal life comes second place to the Jedi. Mara is my apprentice and this was part of her final trials."

"She's not your Jedi apprentice any more. You could do something about the way you both feel and…you should have a personal life. It's not forbidden by that damned Jedi Code." Han got out of his chair and strode about the room, the anger rolling off him. Eventually, with a final sound of disgust, he left the Jedi alone.

Luke's fingers tightened around his glass of Savareen brandy as he felt the waves of the other man's rage hit him. Luke's face was a picture of total astonishment. He couldn't remember the last time Han had gotten this angry with him. "But…" His own irritation began to grow. What was he supposed to do? Just say to the most dangerous woman in the galaxy, 'You're a Jedi Knight now, let's start an affair.' The idea would have almost made him smile if he hadn't been trying to hold on to his own temper.

Leia had entered the room and had been equally blunt. "You're a Jedi, Luke, not a B'Omarr monk. I never thought you were a coward before but you are starting to behave like one." As soon as the words had left her mouth, Leia knew that she had gone too far but it was too late to take them back.

Attacked from all sides, Luke's face closed off stubbornly. "Back off, Leia," he snapped, as his usually banked temper surfaced. "I do not want to discuss it."

"_Don't want to discuss_!!!!!!!!!!" Leia's voice rose alarmingly. "Luke!" She could see her brother reigning in his temper with difficulty but he managed to do it. She wished he would just let go but he rarely raised his voice to her. Anger was said to be of the dark side but sometimes it could cleanse. Sometimes she hated his vaunted Jedi control. She was going to have to speak to Mara about this. It was going to be much harder than they thought.

"This is rather unfair of you. This is my life and what I do with it is my decision."

"But you want this. I know you do," Leia exclaimed.

"It's none of your business." Luke stood up and with a last implacable stare at his sister; he drained his glass of brandy in one gulp and placed the glass back on the table. "Have you finished the lecture?" he asked coldly. "I must go and get some sleep. I have an early departure slot scheduled for tomorrow morning."

"What are you so scared of, Luke? That she won't be there on Yavin when you get back. That once you left her on Elrood, you wouldn't see her leave you? That the pain would be less because you left before you became more in love with her than you are already – if that's even possible?"

A sudden fire blazed in Luke's blue eyes making Leia take a step back but he said nothing, reigning in his temper as he always managed to do. "Goodnight, Leia," he intoned solemnly, once more in control. "I'll contact you to let you know that I've arrived back on Yavin."

"You do that," she said curtly, almost wishing that he had lost his famous Jedi calm. But he hadn't. When she rose in the morning, he had gone.

**Yavin IV**

Luke gave a shiver and pulled his robe around his body as he dragged his mind away from what had happened on Coruscant and into the present. He hated things not being well between him and Leia.

Despite the warmth of the Yavin evening, he felt chilled. He was alone again, he thought sadly - and it was for the best. But then as he walked into his homely apartment, the unmistakeable sense of warmth in the Force hit him. He stepped further into the room and gazed around. He hadn't left the doors out onto his small balcony open before he left. He would have every insect on Yavin making a nest inside his bed otherwise.

And then her presence surrounded him. There was only one person who could do that to him – who could make him feel as if he'd really come home.

"So," Mara drawled. "You're finally back?"

The unexpectedness of actually hearing her voice made him jump. She stood on the balcony framed in the open doorway, the dark foliage of the Yavin jungle as her backdrop. Mara walked forward, closing the doors behind her. "I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to show."

Luke took in her appearance and marvelled at her beauty. She was dressed in a simple cream tunic and pants, her hair in a single braid falling over her shoulder and her green eyes sparkling with…

"Knight Jade," he said formally, dipping his head in a bow.

"Jedi Master Skywalker," she returned solemnly. They stood staring at one another for a moment and then Mara grinned. "Welcome home, farmboy."

He responded to her smile, his heart lightening. How could he not? It lit up the whole room. "Glad to be home, Mara," he said simply, suppressing the urge to take her in his arms and never let her go.

Mara stifled the irrational desire to throw herself at him. "Go and unpack and I'll have something prepared for you to eat."

"Domesticated, Jade. I am impressed," he said lightly. "The Force does move in mysterious ways."

"Nerf," she said, managing a glare.

He smiled, too happy to do anything else.

Mara stared at the emerald crystal still sitting on the shelf beside her narrow bed. It was time to return it. But if returning it meant that she had to leave him…Mara would have kept it forever. Buying back her freedom meant that she could choose her own destiny and she wanted it to be with Luke. Yes, that's what she would do. She would return the jewel in a manner that was suggestive and then wait to see what happened. It was her destiny to be by the side of the man she loved. She picked up the jewel and marvelled at the way it came to sparkling life when it was in her hand.

It was very late. Their quarters were dark and silent. Luke was so exhausted, he had hardly been able to keep his eyes open and she'd thought that he was about to fall asleep in the middle of his dinner. Her smooth brow furrowed. "What did they have you doing on Coruscant?"

"Meetings…usual stuff."

"With no breaks or any time for yourself?" she asked accusingly. "They shouldn't do that to you and _you,_" she said with another defiant stare, "…shouldn't let them. Go to bed, Farmboy," Mara murmured, gazing into his heavy blue eyes. "You're practically asleep on your feet. I'll see you in the morning."

"But I wanted to discuss what happened on Elrood with you. I got some of the reports from Winter. I wanted to know what you and the other Jedi thought about the way things were progressing after I left."

"Tomorrow," she said firmly. "And don't argue."

"I'm not," he retorted, but his reply lacked strength. He was exhausted; he had barely slept during his journey to Yavin, his anxiety at what he might find keeping his mind restless. But she was still here.

Her gaze followed him as he got wearily onto his feet and trailed his way into the bedroom. As he vanished from her sight, her head drooped a little. She'd been able to gauge nothing from him apart from the fact that he'd been glad to see her. She supposed that was better than nothing. But now that she knew that she loved the stubborn, bone-headed nerf, friendship was a pale blossom compared to the passionate rose of love and desire. With a sigh, Mara began clearing away their dishes.

After about half an hour she pushed open his bedroom door and stared at his figure in the bed. Luke lay face down, almost comatose in his exhausted sleep, dressed in nothing but his tight fitting black undershorts. He'd been too tired to do more than pull off his clothes and fall into the bed. Mara swallowed and reigned in her instinctive need to touch and caress. She knew how firm those buttocks were – how strong the muscles on his thighs were. She could see the effect of his steady breathing as his rib cage expanded and contracted. There was too much smooth, golden flesh for her poor eyes to appreciate all at once and as she crept closer, her heart began thundering in her chest. Force, he was the most beautiful man she had ever seen.

Her heartbeat increased. She loved him for his gentle kindness but her increasing sexual desire for his perfect body never ceased to amaze her. She loved all of him.

He hadn't even drawn the curtains, he was so tired, and a faint reddish glow from the gas giant Yavin gave everything a subtle hint of colour.

Carefully she drew a light cover over his body and leant over to kiss his cheek. As she made contact with his skin, the emerald crystal, clutched in her hand, suddenly shone brighter than the green blade of Luke's saber. This wasn't just the polished facets of a jewel reflecting the light. This stone was imbued with the Force. When Luke had constructed his fist lightsaber on Tatooine, baking the stone using materials from his home world, he had instilled part of his own life-essence within its sparkling depths. Mara almost dropped it in shock. The Force was giving her a message. She just had to listen. She focused on the crystal for a moment and saw with perfect clarity what it was trying to impart. Mara's life was now firmly connected to Luke Skywalker. She and the stubborn Jedi Master were meant to be together.

Suddenly she had a thought and darted from the room, opening the balcony doors and slipping outside. Luke had trained one of the native jungle flowers to grow around the balcony, its heady smell seductively enticing. Igniting her saber, she carefully cut at a dark red blossom. Mara brushed the perfection of the velvety petals gently with her fingertip as she returned to his bedchamber.

Mara placed the emerald gem and the flower on the pillow beside his head. He would see it when he woke; whether he got the message was another story.

Luke could smell the exotic scent of flowers as he opened his eyes. Force, he'd been tired last night. He couldn't even remember getting into bed. He admitted to himself that he'd broken all records getting back to Yavin in the faint hope Mara might have returned. To find her waiting for him had been more than wonderful. He shifted a little on his comfortable mattress and pulled the cover further over his naked chest and then he caught a flash of something out of the corner of his eye. Luke turned his head and stared. Beside him, on his other pillow, lay his emerald lightsaber crystal and a dark red jungle rose. She'd said that she would return the price he had paid for her once she had become a Jedi Knight. She'd returned his crystal as they'd arranged but it was the manner of her doing that made the fire moths start spinning in his stomach. The debt had been repaid but there was far more to it than that. He couldn't get over the feeling that he was being hunted. Why the rose? His hand reached out and picked up the bloom and as he did so, a streak of scarlet began to shine in the centre of the jewel.

Luke gasped. This was the same jewel that he'd cooked in the makeshift furnace on Tatooine all those years ago? He was out of his depth here. What did this all mean? Altra had said that Mara loved him – was this true? Leia and Han were convinced that Mara loved him. The only one who wasn't certain about Mara's feelings for Luke was Luke himself.

If it were true and she did have some sort of real affection for him, what was he going to do about it? He'd convinced himself that no woman could ever really love him as deeply as he needed them to. Mara was different from other women. Could he take that final chance? Because it would be his final chance. He would never love another – _could_ never love another. Had the Force given its approval or was it testing him once more?

**Several weeks later**

Dusk drew hot and sultry daylight into night. Luke gazed out of his window into the Yavin jungle, his hands clutching something he'd no business even seeing. She was driving him mad without even realising it - or were her actions deliberate?

It wasn't that Luke was unused to living with another person – he was. Sure, most of the galaxy had this image of him as a lonely hermit-type figure but he'd been brought up on Tatooine by his aunt and uncle and from there had moved straight into the company of Han, Chewie and Leia. After that dramatic change to his life, he'd been part of the rebellion and, of course, Rogue squadron. Communal living amongst a bunch of people on the run was the norm for him. He'd spent less time on his own than many people had – yet he was lonely. But hadn't someone said that loneliness was a state of mind?

Now he shared his quarters with Mara Jade. They were living together like man and wife but without the sex. There was no other way to describe it. He was trying not to think about the sex part but at night he dreamed hot and passionate. He saw his body entwined with Mara's, writhing together in the ageless dance of love. He rubbed his hand over his forehead.

During his relationship with Callista, they had lived together on Coruscant and on Yavin IV for several months. She had shared his bed as well as his living space but, now on reflection, something had been missing between them. Nothing had prepared him for cohabiting with Mara - albeit in a totally platonic sense. Force, it wasn't easy. The last thing he wanted to be with Mara was platonic.

It had been a straightforward affair at first – their living arrangement. Even though he knew that he was deeply in love with the fiery redhead, he had almost managed to distance himself emotionally from her potent presence. When she'd left for Elrood, he had tried to think of her as another student, as a sexless friend…as…oh, hell. Luke gave a mirthless chuckle. He was just trying to fool himself completely. He could not think of her as anything other than the woman he was in love with. Mara Jade was the one woman in the entire galaxy he could not ignore and it was getting harder and harder to do so. Mara's presence in his quarters had complicated everything. The mission was over and she'd acquitted herself well. She wasn't a student now. She was a knight. She had removed the ethical dilemma barring them from taking their relationship a step further.

A life alone dedicated to the Force and the Jedi was the only barrier left. Luke was trying to _do_ it. He was failing miserably.

Their first few weeks together at the beginning of her training had been awkward. The secret of how far he'd gone and what he had done to save her life had hung between them. Mara seemed to be watching him, gauging his moods as she began to fit into the small, close-knit Jedi community. There were bound to be problems as she settled in among their number but Mara had become one of them with surprising ease.

As he watched her learn and interact, growing in confidence and strength, he marvelled at his good fortune at knowing this remarkable woman and being able to call her his friend. They'd had a chequered existence, their friendship suffering many ups and downs over the years. But apart from his family, she was the one person he trusted the most in the entire galaxy. Lately she'd appeared to relax in his presence in a way she never had before and Luke revelled in the way she reserved her special smile for him alone.

Her life had been hard and she wasn't given much to laughter or even warmth but deep inside Mara Jade was a warm, caring individual. Luke knew that he was the only person who saw the true Mara Jade and what he saw, he loved. While she was on her mission with Kirana Ti, he had missed her more than he'd ever thought possible. They had spent time apart throughout their long years of friendship. Indeed, they had been more often apart than together. But now, when she wasn't near him, he missed her.

She'd returned from Elrood and had taken up residence in his tiny spare bedchamber again and showed no sign of moving out. Why hadn't she moved out? Luke didn't want to think about the day that she did. He refrained from mentioning how cramped her bedchamber was just in case she decided that living in such a small space as that wasn't comfortable or practical.

Obviously he hadn't lived with Mara Jade before but he thought he was used to women and the embarrassing things they left lying around. He'd had female colleagues during the rebellion and he had a sister. Leia was a woman – although some of her political enemies begged to differ.

Luke glanced down at the piece of insubstantial fabric he held between his fingers and dropped it as if it had scalded him. He'd had no idea that Mara Jade wore panties this… Luke took another look at the scrap of pink fabric. The only word he could think of was 'sexy.' He was unsure if Jedi Masters should even think about sex. He had been thinking about it quite frequently of late - since Mara had moved into his quarters to be truthful. With a guilty expression on his face Luke's fingers reached for the item, smoothing the fabric between his fingers, imagining what Mara would look like wearing it. Involuntarily he groaned. A Jedi's trials could never be as difficult as this.

The occasional appearance of Leia's chaste white undergarments hung over a portable drier in the various rebel bases they'd frequented over the years were nothing compared to the delicate lacy trifles of nothing that Mara wore beneath tunics, robes and her infamous black leather jumpsuit.

They had started to appear in amongst his own clean laundry. How, he had no idea. It wasn't the first time in the past month that he had lifted a wisp of coloured lace before he'd known what it was. It had taken a moment to register that this was not the Jedi Master's plain utilitarian black shorts and then his face had changed colour. He hadn't been able to get the images of Mara dressed in these almost pieces of frivolity out of his head for the rest of the day and his imagination had been quite vivid. He'd also had the uncomfortable feeling that Kam and Tionne Solusar had known exactly what was plaguing him and were amused by it.

He'd then arrived from a late class to find her dressed in one of his shirts attempting to iron her clothes. _His shirt! _Was she wearing anything under that shirt? Maybe one of the articles of lingerie designed to have his temperature rocketing skywards. It had the desired effect. Luke's temperature rose.

"We have droids to do that," Luke said trying not to glance at the expanse of bare, smooth, shapely leg.

"I know, but you were the one that said they had enough to do," Mara said raising an eyebrow. "I'm only trying to be helpful."

"You're that alright," he muttered under his breath ignoring the sharp look she sent in his direction.

"That's my shirt," he grumbled lightly. It looked better on her.

"My clothes were crumpled," Mara countered. "I can hardly iron in the nude, can I?" With that image she'd managed to ruin his concentration during three of the last four Academy staff meetings.

He could hear her now singing faintly in the shower and, closing his eyes, he put his head in his hands, groaning softly to himself. Immediately a picture of Mara sprang before him naked and wet, the bubbles of her cleaning solution running over her shoulders, down her round, generous breasts and…

He could even smell the fresh fragrance she favoured. He let out a husky moan. The cleaning droid had mixed up their respective cleaning solutions only last week and he'd lathered himself liberally with what he associated as hers before he'd realised what he'd done. He'd had an almost constant reminder of her for the rest of the day. A Jedi knows no passion. Luke remembered Mara's teasing gaze fixed on him as they'd debated the Jedi code. She was certainly putting his feeble skills to the test and Luke suspected he was no match for her. What was worse, she didn't even realise she was doing it. How could she even guess at what she was putting him through? Altra had said that Mara loved him. He kept returning to that idea over and over again. Did she? _Could she?_

Was he wrong to devote his life to the Jedi? Was it a form of cowardice that made him shy away from a relationship? If he attempted to win Mara would it ruin their friendship? Suppose it didn't work out? Luke caught his dreams as they tumbled from the box he kept them in. He loved her and he would always love her but he had to be resolute. She had been his student and it had been unethical for him to pursue a relationship. Why should things change now she was a knight? The barriers to such a relationship had gone but he still couldn't just let go of all his own fears. He had to let her have her freedom. He would always be there for her. Why should she choose him – she could have anyone. What had been the exact meaning of his lightsaber crystal and the scarlet rose left on his pillow as he slept? It was almost as if she were marking her territory. He had carefully pressed the bloom between the pages of a large book. She would laugh at him if she knew.

Yes, he had made the right decision - or had he? Force, this was difficult, Mara was making things very hard for him.

No, he had to be honest. He was making things hard for himself.

Inside the shower stall, Mara smiled to herself. Her barriers were down as much as she dared without alerting the rest of Yavin IV and she was broadcasting with all her might to the man that she could sense waiting in the next room. She had caught one shocked flash of heat as he'd sorted through the washing returned by the laundry droid. So he'd found the lace panties she'd planted. Mara had made sure some of her more feminine articles of clothing had been regularly entangled with Luke's more sober pieces. She had even bought Luke some more racy pieces of male underwear and had found it amusing as he had refused to wear them. The strengthening link between them made her aware when his emotions were roused. She delighted in the fact that his discoveries had shaken him. 'You've been too long without a woman, Skywalker,' Mara thought determinedly. 'I'm going to change all that.'

Grabbing her bottle of cleanser, Mara emptied a generous amount into her hand and began to slowly lather it over her body. Her lips curved as she imagined Luke's hands doing the honours. His hands would be…oh so gentle, the calluses from many hours of manual work and lightsaber drill adding a certain something as he smoothed the gel across her soft skin, finding the places that made her gasp; his strong hands finding the tips of her breasts and massaging them into aching fullness. It wasn't enough - she wanted more. Imagining this sweet torture wasn't enough. She wanted this feeling to be real.

She subsided against the tiled wall of the shower, her breathing coming in quick gasps. She could see Luke clearly as he ducked his head under the shower spray, his eyes closing as the running water darkened his hair, plastering it against his forehead.

When she least expected it, Luke's eyes would open, the brightness of their colour startling her into full arousal.

"Kiss me…" Mara moaned, caught up in her fantasy. "Luke…Kiss me. I want to feel your body against mine."

Luke moved towards her, his lips parting, his own breath beginning to quicken…

_"Luke…Kiss me."_ With a dull thud, Luke tumbled off the sofa and onto the floor and back into reality. He could hear her voice; it was warm, sensuous and breathy with desire. She was begging for his touch – his kiss. She was calling _his _name.

_"Luke…Kiss me. I want to feel your body against mine. "_

"Wha-a-t!" he exclaimed as he banged his knees hard. "Ow!" Had he been dreaming of taking liberties with Mara's glorious body? Or had he heard her innermost desires?

The noise from outside jerked Mara back out of her erotic dream. "Luke!" She shut off the water and exited the stall, grabbing a large white towel, which she wrapped around herself. "Luke…" Mara ran into the living area to see Luke climbing stiffly off the floor. "I heard… I felt…pain," she said slowly, taking in the scene.

"I leaned too far forward and slipped off the couch," he muttered, his attention focused on the knees of his black pants that looked slightly the worse for wear. "Don't laugh," he said ruefully. "I feel like an idiot and probably look like one, too."

"It wouldn't be the first time," Mara remarked dryly.

"Not fair, Jade. Hit a man when he's down." Luke turned his head to look at her and went still, his face whitening, the smile fading. "You're wearing a towel."

"And?" Mara said lightly moving towards him.

"It's a towel."

"It's quite decent, I can assure you," she said. "I was in the shower when I heard you…slip off the sofa. I didn't think you would be too happy if I came running out here without anything on at all."

"I…" Luke's mind shut down at the mere thought as she came closer still. He could see the beads of water glistening on her bare shoulders. "Anything at all," he managed to say. All he had to do was reach out and tug at the material hiding her unclothed beauty from his gaze.

"Naked," Mara breathed the word out huskily. "I don't normally wear anything when I shower."

There was a strained silence. Luke felt as if his face matched the colour of Mara's hair and he felt his body harden at her words. But she seemed unaffected by the whole situation. "These are yours," he mumbled thrusting a small pile of clothing into her hands. She seemed determined to nudge his mind into thinking of her unclothed. To give his hands something useful to do instead of what they wanted to do – like reach out and pull the towel from Mara's glorious body – he picked up the scattered articles of clothing at his feet.

"I thought I was getting short," Mara said. She extracted the lace knickers that had caused Luke so much embarrassment from around his fingers, watching with interest as he blushed vividly. She grinned artlessly at him. "I'll just go and get dressed since you object so much to my towel."

"There's nothing wrong with your towel," Luke snapped, his mind beginning to wake up. A certain portion of his anatomy was certainly alive and wanting to kick. Was she really doing this deliberately? "It's just…"

"Of course, the celibate Jedi Master cannot be sullied by the sight of a woman's body. I'll go and get dressed. I'm sorry if the sight of me without my clothes offends you," Mara said mockingly.

"I'm not celibate," Luke snapped.

"You're not? Not what I'd seen and heard" Mara grinned and leant closer, her mouth mere millimetres from the tip of his ear. "That's good to know," she taunted sexily. "I have no use for you being…celibate."

"That's not what I meant, Jade. Stop trying to twist my words into something else. Your body is spectacular. I am a poor farmboy, remember, and unused to such beauty." Luke willed his own body to behave as the half-mocking words fell from his lips.

Mara stared at him, a half-smile playing about her lips. "A compliment, Skywalker?" she murmured, the lace underwear dangling tantalisingly from her fingers. "Well done. It's a start." And she vanished into her bedchamber leaving the Jedi Master alone. He had a good idea what she was going to be wearing under her clothes this time. How was he going to get through lightsaber class knowing that underneath her workout clothes was…? He put his head in his hands and groaned again.

After that evening it seemed to Luke as if Mara was going out of her way to tease him with her femininity. In public she was the dutiful and hard working Jedi Knight taking her place in the learning and teaching on Yavin IV but when they were alone their encounters were spiked with sexual awareness and the confrontation between a man and a woman that only came from their interest in one another at the most primitive of levels.

Luke's resolve to do nothing about his feelings for Mara Jade were faltering in the heat of her unspoken challenge. Surely she was unaware of the messages her green eyes were sending him – what she was doing to him - and that made it doubly hard. He couldn't believe that she would be so spiteful as to toy with his affections knowing that he could never be more than a friend. She wouldn't go so far as to try and make him fall in love with her? Mara wasn't like that and he was already deeply in love with her, so the exercise was pointless. She was too beautiful to be interested in him for very long. He may be the Jedi Master but ordinary Luke Skywalker of Tatooine lay just beneath the surface.

_But Altra was sure that she loves you. Leia and Han think that she loves you._

He had saved her life. There was bound to be gratitude mixed up with her awareness of him as her Jedi Master. That was all it could be but… When Mara looked at him he could almost hope that there was a different sort of future for him – that his destiny wasn't to be alone.

Tionne had spoken again of a spare suite of rooms available in the main accommodation block should Mara want to quit her cramped bedchamber in Luke's quarters. "It was a temporary measure, Master Skywalker."

"She's fine where she is," Luke had replied gruffly. "Isn't she? Is it bothering any of the other Jedi that Mara stays with me? Has she complained?"

But Mara was no longer his apprentice but a Jedi Knight. She could eventually think about taking her own students. Kam and Tionne had already inserted her into the Academy's timetable teaching a number of classes to all levels. Luke's heart sank; he did not want her to leave him.

"Has she expressed a desire to have her own quarters?"

"Oh, no," Tionne had answered, her pearly eyes widening at the strange note in the Jedi Master's voice. "There have been no complaints." Mara Jade had almost won over the serious Jedi Academy administrator. Tionne had watched Mara go out of her way to become part of the Academy. She had seen her devotion and application to her studies and she'd also witnessed the look on Mara's face every time Master Skywalker had been with her – an expression she didn't try to hide any more. Tionne recognised that look. She'd seen it on her own face when she'd first fallen in love with Kam Solusar. So that was the way the moons were circling. It was about time.

What was even more surprising, Tionne found that she didn't mind how Mara felt about Luke. In fact she wished that the oblivious Jedi Master, who was so obviously in love with Mara in return, would wake up and act on his feelings before it was too late. How he could remain in ignorance of Mara's feelings for him was quite beyond Tionne's comprehension. Tionne was quite certain that there wasn't one Jedi on Yavin IV that was unaware of how Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade felt about one another.

Perhaps it was better that Mara Jade remained in such close proximity to her former master. Perhaps fate would take a hand. Tionne was almost tempted to interfere herself.

Luke pushed the coverlet away from his overheated body and tugged at his loose sleeping shorts. It was far too hot to sleep. He stared up at the ceiling - willing himself to feel drowsiness overtake him but he was unsuccessful. He quickly checked on Mara – she was sleeping, as was every other sentient being on Yavin IV. Luke wriggled underneath the smooth sheets and cursed as they twisted their way around his legs and bunched into an uncomfortable knot.

"Force," he muttered quietly. "I need a drink. Anything to help me sleep would be nice."

He extricated himself from his treacherous bedding and padded quietly through to the small kitchen, his bare feet making no noise on the floor. With a grin he crouched down and began to search through the cupboards. When the supply ship had docked three days ago, Luke had found that Mara had ordered him a whole year's worth of hot chocolate. His torment and delight appeared to be looking after his interests.

"Luke!"

The sleepy voice made him jump a little. He swivelled on his knees and almost lost the grip he had on the packet of chocolate mix and his favourite mug.

Mara leaned against the door to the galley-style kitchen, her green eyes dark and heavy with sleep giving her a sultry air, her hair tumbling about her shoulders and down to her waist in a waterfall of red-gold curls. Luke swallowed. She was getting to him far too easily and his meagre defences had no chance against her powerful seductive assault.

His eyes zeroed in on her bare feet, her toenails painted a delicate pink – a colour that a child might have favoured. But Mara Jade was no child. Luke's eyes travelled up her shapely calves to her knees and higher until they reached the edge of her very short sleeping shift inadequately covered by an open, transparent robe. It left very little to his fevered imagination. Shouldn't she be dressed in something that enveloped her from her ankles to her neck? But then, it didn't matter what she wore. She could bring him to swift and almost instant arousal dressed in a sack with a Jawa's cowl over her head. He would know and sense the sweetness of her essence anywhere. He didn't even think that a set of white stormtrooper armour and accompanying helmet would make a difference.

Mara waited until he had finished his perusal of her person. "It was hot," she murmured, her eyes beginning to sharpen as the sleep fled. "And you were thinking far too loudly."

"I was what!"

"Thinking too loudly. I woke from an extremely pleasant dream and could sense your mind turning wheels inside that sandy head of yours. It stopped me from going back to sleep."

"Oh." Luke forced his eyes away from the tempting picture she made and stared in bewilderment at the articles he still clutched in his hands.

"And then I was too hot to sleep."

"The climate is temperate."

"Hot," Mara said.

"Temperate," he maintained firmly. "Tatooine is hot."

"It has two suns, of course it is hot," Mara griped tiredly. "But tonight is not temperate." She looked pointedly at Luke's own state of undress. "It's hot. You were brought up on Tatooine and can often feel the cold. If it's warm enough here for _you_ to be wandering around in just your shorts…" She ran her gaze over his naked, muscular chest, something primitive and proprietorial flashing deep in her green eyes. "Then it's hot."

Luke got slowly to his feet and began filling the water boiler. "Would you like something to drink?"

"Are you having chocolate?"

"Of course – I thought it might help me to sleep."

"Is there enough for two?"

Luke grinned. "You are the one that stocked my cupboards full, Jade. I think I could spare you a cup."

"So, farmboy. You couldn't sleep either?" Mara watched as he began to mix up their drinks. "Why not? I hope there's no dark side reason."

"So do I," Luke quipped lightly. "But, no. I have things on my mind and as you said, it was too hot and I couldn't sleep."

"Are you sure that's the only reason?" Mara queried shrewdly. "What kind of things?"

Luke paused. She was too sharp and she knew him better than anyone else did. "Oh…Uh…Yeah," he said lamely. "Just things."

"Mmm," Mara said unconvinced.

"Where's your mug?" he asked changing the subject.

Mara pushed one towards him watching carefully as Luke filled the mugs with the hot liquid and pushed Mara's towards her. Emblazoned on the side were the words: 'Red Hot Jedi Babe!'

"Where did…" Luke stuttered.

Mara assessed the slogan and grinned. "It was a present from the crew of the _Wild Karrde_. Just a bit of fun. They picked it up at one of the markets in Coruscant's entertainment district. There's a whole series of them. I nearly got you the one that said, 'Jedi Masters do it with their lightsabers…'"

"I think I'll stick to this one." He lifted 'I'm with the Wookiee' to his mouth and took a long draught of his chocolate. "There's a whole series of them?"

"Mm-hmm." Mara took in his tousled, slightly too long hair, his bare, muscular chest, the sleeping shorts dipping low on his hips and her mouth watered. The desire she was keeping so firmly under control threatened to get out of hand. He would not welcome it even though he was in love with her. Or would he? "The bruising has finally gone," she commented softly, staring at the place on his chest where he'd sported the evidence of the surprise attack.

"Yes," he murmured. "I can't believe that happened so long ago. When you saw it first it was quite spectacular – the whole colour spectrum. I would be concerned if I was still multi-hued."

"You were lucky, farmboy, that it was only bruising and not broken ribs."

Luke gave the little farmboy shrug of his shoulders that Mara found so endearing. "Aw, Mara…"

She stepped closer and ran her hands over his skin, checking for any lingering pain. "I just need to make sure for myself."

"It's fine and it was weeks and weeks ago." Luke wondered why his heart hadn't burst out of his chest as her fingers had lightly traced over his skin.

"It seems to be," Mara whispered, gazing deep into his eyes, her fingers tracing circles. This simple touch was affecting her deeply.

Luke shivered and placed his hand over Mara's, stopping the movement.

"Luke…" she said.

He shook his head, his hands coming up to rest on her shoulders, his eyes staring into her jade-green depths. Blue eyes darkened and green answered the call. Desire slammed dizzyingly into their souls and Luke swallowed nervously, shaken at what he saw between them. This was so primitive – so raw – so real.

"Luke…" Mara tried again.

He shook his head. No, this wasn't real – it couldn't be. His hands tightened on her shoulders drawing her towards him. This wasn't right but his hands were independent of his brain and pulled her flush against his naked chest. His dreams came to mind and for a moment he was tempted to just give in and experience the rapture.

_'Let go, Luke. Trust your feelings.'_ He could almost hear Obi-Wan's words once more.

Mara could feel his touch burning into her shoulders through her thin sleeping shift and robe. Was it finally working? Had she managed to crack that damned Jedi composure of his? The vision of them both naked and writhing passionately against one another escaped from the part of her mind she had imprisoned it in. She wanted him so badly; she could feel the anticipation twisting inside her gut. Mara's breathing quickened as she pulled back a little, allowing her hands to slide tormentingly slowly up Luke's muscular torso. The problem was that as she tried to make Luke more aware of her as a woman, Mara found that she was equally as susceptible to the Jedi Master as a man.

He was all the man she would ever want.

Once again she swayed closer; her cloth covered breasts brushing lightly against Luke's chest and heard his breath catch in his throat. "Please…"

"Mara!"

"I need you to…" Mara could see the wariness in his eyes but not the confusion. Luke was becoming aware of her motives – he had to be by now. She hadn't been exactly subtle. It wasn't time to start now. Taking her courage in both hands, Mara slid her hands the remaining short distance and encircled his neck, pulling his head down to meet hers. With a deep breath, Mara parted her lips and kissed him and, with a little sigh of surrender, Luke closed his eyes and let himself be drawn into the sensual warmth of the woman he loved.

This kiss was completely different from any of their previous encounters. Like the kiss she gave him before she had left for Elrood, Mara was the one who initiated the kiss, her lips parting under his, her hands tangling in his thick hair. Luke couldn't help but respond, his tongue darting inside her mouth, mimicking the action Mara wanted him to perform with her. It was the natural thing to do. But then something changed and Luke became the one who was driving their passion on. His arms wrapped tighter around her svelte frame, gathering her close, imprinting the feel of her body onto his own.

The other kisses they'd given one another had been nothing to compare with this one. Luke briefly recalled the first kiss on Elrood but it didn't count. He'd been dressed as the prince and Mara had been ill. Yes, she'd reacted to his touch; her lips had softened sweetly under his but this was different. This was genuine and…_hot_. Their hands began to move, grasping each other fiercely, caressing and stroking their senses to heightened desperation. He had to stop before things spiralled out of his control. He had to stop before he was totally unable to.

Luke took a deep breath and reluctantly pulled away from the woman his arms had wrapped themselves around as if he never wanted to let her go. He'd been clinging onto her for dear life.

"Luke…" Mara whispered, opening her eyes, her hands clutching desperately at his powerful shoulders.

"Force, Jade," he said, stepping away from her. "I'm sorry. We should never…"

"Of course not," Mara muttered scornfully, from swollen kiss-stung lips. "You're the Jedi Master with a code that stops you from living."

"That's one reason," Luke replied, his voice flat, his eyes dark and watchful. "But I'm living."

"Half a life. But beware; this will not go away…"

"If I do nothing about it – it will."

"The code and all that 'Jedi shouldn't' rubbish," Mara dismissed. "We are meant to be, Skywalker. Our bond is far more than one between Jedi. It's a…"

"That's your opinion."

"It _is _my opinion. This isn't over, _farmboy_." Mara nearly spat out the word 'Jedi' in disgust. But she was a Jedi Knight too and something in her now refrained from using the word as an insult. Perhaps by using the word 'farmboy', she could appeal to Luke on another level. But she could sense him withdrawing from her, could sense him pulling his frayed emotions and knitting them tightly together.

She pulled her robe back up over her shoulders. Luke's hands had dislodged the fine fabric. "This isn't over, Luke," she repeated. "Not by a long way." She gave him a level stare. "Don't even think about retreating to the furthest, most inaccessible place on this planet because I will hunt you down."

"But Mara…"

"Oh, no, Skywalker," she said warningly. "This isn't about revenge. I'm a Jedi and we don't 'do' that. I'm going back to my bed to continue the sleep your overly active brain woke me up from. Think about what we just did and why you are running away from it. This will never go away." She scowled. "I will see you in the morning for our usual lightsaber practice. You had better be there."

"But Jade..."

"No, Luke. Your thoughts betray you and we're too closely bonded for me not to know how you are feeling."

"You think you know what's in my mind?" Luke asked, his voice suddenly sensuous without him realising.

"If it's anything like the images I've seen in mine," she murmured, her voice deepening to match his, "…then yes, I do. We will make love, Skywalker, and it will be like nothing you have ever experienced in your entire life. That is a promise." She gave him a last fulminating glance and stalked from the kitchen.

Luke watched her go, bewilderment in his eyes. This wasn't how things were supposed to go. She wasn't supposed to kiss him and he wasn't supposed to kiss her back. The desire he'd seen written all over her face wasn't meant to be for him. She wasn't supposed to tell him that they would make love.

He was intended to be alone with the Force and his Jedi code, saving the galaxy. His martyrdom to his cause was designed to make up for the lack of a loving, sexual relationship and a family. He had fallen in love with Mara Jade, the one woman in the entire universe who could match him, but had intended to do nothing about it. He had thought that he was better than everyone else because he could live with his love and enjoy his own suffering.

Luke found he didn't enjoy it after all. _"We will make love, Skywalker."_ Could she have made her intent any clearer than that? Luke didn't think so. How did he feel about her declaration? Part of him was thrilled and the other part scared. If he made love to Mara Jade there would be no going back. Luke would have set himself on a course which could lead to his own destruction. He stared down at the lower half of his own body, noting the bulge in his sleeping shorts. No wonder Mara was so certain of his celibacy. He had leapt upon her like a man starved.

With a sound of disgust Luke headed for the shower. His…predicament wasn't going to go away and he had to take care of it in the usual way by the steadiness of his saber hand. But he knew when his seed spilled from his guilty body it would be Mara's name on his lips.

The door to Mara's bedchamber slid home behind her with a satisfying thud. 'Damned son of a sith.' The realisation that she had made her move a little too early gnawed at her temper. But she wanted him so much – how could she resist him? Answer – she could not. Perhaps in a twisted kind of way the Force had intended that this be a continuing part of her trials.

"I'm not finished with you, Skywalker," she vowed, her voice gritty with determination. "I made my move too early but I can hold onto my patience. And I will win this fight - I _have_ to. We are equals now. You can't keep shutting me out."


	3. Chapter 33

**The Emerald Price Chapter 33**

****

**By Ash Darklighter**

****

**Disclaimer:**- The characters and situations used in this story are the property of George Lucas and Lucasfilm Ltd. I am only using them for some entertainment and will not even make one Republican credit from this endeavour. This is set around eight to ten years after Luke and Mara met each other for the first time. This one is for all the girls on the AA list and of course for Mona – what would I do without you? My thanks also to Niqella and Rhea for their encouragement and invaluable suggestions.

Mara awoke with the first rays of the sun. Despite having been up during the middle of the night with Luke, she had found sleep difficult to achieve once she'd returned to her lonely bed. Over and over Mara relived the sweetness and burning desire of his kiss. He had wanted her – she had felt his need against her belly. Luke was finally seeing her as a woman and not his 'get-him-out-of-a-crisis-friend'. He had almost been ready to drop his creed of never letting a woman close to him. She remembered the way that her hands had smoothed over his naked chest until she'd linked them behind his head. His skin had been hot and smooth and…

Mara clenched her hands into tight fists and closed her eyes, her breathing loud in the silent confines of her tiny bedchamber. She certainly had her work cut out for her. She would have to get him so caught up in the moment, so unable to think that his brain would only catch up to what they had done…after they had made love. Her face flamed at the thought of seducing him. The galaxy had this image of her as a wanton scarlet woman but it was all a sham. She'd had the occasional fleeting relationship but it had been many years since she'd indulged. Casual relationships had proved to be unsatisfactory. Her partners had always ended up wanting more than Mara could provide emotionally. For many years she had thought herself incapable of true commitment until her friendship with the Jedi Master had deepened into something else on her part – proving that it wasn't her inability to commit that was the problem but not having the right person to commit to. Mara had, as she'd grown closer to Luke, not wanted another man.

But Force, how she wanted this one.

She had thought that becoming a Jedi knight and following the way of the Force might have made him look differently at her. _Shavit_, the whole of the Jedi community could see what could be between them but Luke remained stubborn to the last. Mara realised that Luke saw her in the same way that he always had. He was the one man who truly loved what she was inside as well as out and had foreseen what she could become. Sadly, he wouldn't act upon the feelings he had for her. She was going to have to drag him kicking into a relationship with her. Her lips firmed. It was time she claimed him as her own and made him see that they were meant to be together. Perhaps she should not hide the way she felt about him in front of the others. It was not her way to be so open about her personal feelings but she was beginning to run out of ideas.

Luke did not think that she could commit to him. He was a modest man and did not speak often of his heroic achievements, nor did he think that women wanted him for the farmboy as well as the Jedi Master. Mara could see how females of many species had lusted after his handsome face and well-toned form when he appeared at official state banquets. Would they want him after a training run through the Yavin jungle when he was hot and tired, his well-muscled chest covered in sweat… Mara stopped her train of thought right there. One of the amazing things about the Jedi was his ignorance of his appeal. He did not consider himself handsome. His priorities did not give him the luxury of dancing attendance on a well-groomed Coruscant socialite. He was not free in the way that other men were. His life might contain elements of danger, hardship and excitement but there were few women able to deal with all three. He did not expect a romantic relationship to be successful under such conditions and his previous affairs hadn't survived the test of time. Was that what her problem was? Luke didn't think that any woman could endure what Luke Skywalker did. She scowled. How dare he assume such a thing about her.

Mara wanted both the Master and the ordinary man – she wanted the suave commanding officer, the dignified Jedi and the simple farmboy. She wanted all of him. She _loved_ all of him.

She nibbled worriedly at her lip. Luke never reacted to things in the way she expected him to. How would he feel about last night's kiss now he'd had time to sleep on it? Had he slept? Mara had found it nearly impossible to achieve respite in slumber and had slept fitfully; tossing and turning as the passionate images she'd pushed away returned to haunt her. She'd lain in the darkness burning with frustration born of her need for her body's urges to be satisfied. The only consolation was that she knew Luke was suffering just as much behind his closed bedchamber door.

She sat numbly in her own tiny bedchamber. Being so close to him was killing her and yet, being apart from him would be worse than hell. Had she blown her chance with the elusive Jedi by her forwardness? Mara wasn't sure but part of her applauded her own honesty. Something in the shifting patterns of the Force told her that it was meant to be. She had to break down the barriers between them and she had to do it soon. Luke, in typical fashion, was holding out through stubbornness and remembered pain. She was going to have to become more forthright still to get what her heart yearned for. If he wanted stubborn she would give it back to him a hundred fold.

Mara dragged herself upright and began to get ready for her day and the saber fight with the feeling that much more was at stake than a mere exercise routine.

Staring at herself in her reflecting glass as she tightly braided her red-gold curls, she wondered at how her emotions were spiralling out of her control. She'd never been prone to outbursts of weeping or rage but now found herself frequently subject to both. This was how much Luke Skywalker affected her; this was how much she loved him. She was behaving like a woman in love with all the determination and vulnerability her condition caused. There was only one solution for her malady and it was beginning to look like Luke was not going to give her the cure.

She trailed wearily into her bedchamber and watched the door slide closed, the angry tears still wet upon her cheeks. That…_man_ had gone through today as if the previous evening's fiery kiss and all of today's events had never happened. He had a heart. She knew that he was kind, generous and caring but when it came to romance, had Luke Skywalker switched on a computer inside of him?

They had breakfasted together in the dining room surrounded by all the other Jedi and not by one word or look had he shown himself affected by what had happened and she'd watched his every move closely. He'd sat next to Kam and Tionne and had chatted in a desultory fashion about some new texts he had discovered on healing techniques which he would give to Dilys Van Osten when she left Yavin to visit Mon Calamari. Instead of listening, Mara had found herself watching his mouth, imagining how it would feel as it kissed every part of her instead of opening to shovel down whatever he'd decided to eat for breakfast. Once he'd finished eating, he had smiled his gentle smile and asked if she was ready for their daily workout. Not once had he given her any indication that between them such a fiery passion had occurred.

Mara wanted to give him another sort of workout - one that involved him and her in the large bed back in their quarters. She suspected that he had attempted to put last night behind him and had, to all intents and purposes, succeeded. Mara wasn't about to let him forget any time soon. But she had nodded meekly, collected her things and followed him to the sparring arena – a small spark of rebellion clawing at her breast.

Luke kept his shields firmly in place. Not since he'd faced Palpatine on Endor had he used his barriers to this degree. Mara had sat opposite him and had watched him carefully. He'd felt her stretching out towards him with the Force, her sense a little bewildered at his apparent composure. If only she really knew the truth about the churning, agitated state that his mind was in and how he had brought himself to fulfilment moaning her name.

"Luke?" Kam asked softly. "Something wrong?"

"No," he said. "Just thinking."

"I see."

"You ready for our saber workout, Jade?" Luke asked.

"Of course," she replied evenly but the expression in her green eyes gave away her tension.

When it came to lightsaber duels, Mara and Luke were more evenly matched than most. Luke was still the superior swordsman and always would be but Mara usually managed to keep up with him for a lengthy period of time. They spun, slashed, parried, somersaulted and twisted. Mara had fought more aggressively than usual. It had been a long time since she had let herself be so careless, so driven by her emotions and, as a result, she had lost easily. Luke hadn't uttered one word of censure at her imprudence, fuelling the steady growth of her ire. She wanted him to shout, to upbraid her for her lack of caution and judgement but he did not. She didn't want him to quote 'there is no emotion, there is peace' at her. Instead, with of flick of his wrist, he had disarmed her, sending her saber spinning away from her hand to land noiselessly on the mat, the blue blade fizzing impotently before cutting out.

"You must keep your focus," Luke instructed, shutting down his own saber and hooking it onto the belt at his waist.

"Yeah," Mara muttered, glaring vibroshivs at her weapon. "Focus."

"I shall see you at dinner," Luke said quietly. "I have a full teaching commitment today since Kirana Ti is returning to Elrood to be at the next round of talks." Mara missed the strange light shining in his blue eyes which gave away the fact that he was not as composed as his distracted opponent thought. "What are you going to do today?"

Mara scowled. It was like a Coruscant drinks party. "What am I going to do today?" she echoed incredulously. "You know, Farmboy, you make it sound as if I do nothing around here."

Luke studied Mara carefully. He'd suspected that their workout might have its problems after last night's kiss but apart from Mara's slight lack of focus he'd hoped that perhaps things might have calmed down. It had been a vain hope and now he realised that fact. He'd found it almost impossible to keep his Jedi mask in place when she'd looked at him with the flames of desire and anger barely banked in the depths of her green eyes. Mara was right; this wasn't over – not by a long way. "I would never suggest such a thing. I was just interested."

"Really?" she snapped.

"You know that I'm interested in anything that happens here on Yavin IV."

"And in what I do?"

"Of course," he said, keeping his composure. Of course he was interested in what she did. He was _too_ interested.

Mara rolled her eyes, holding onto her temper with difficulty. She was making polite, small-talk with the man she loved when instead she wanted to scream, sob and shout at him like a child – wanted to pull him to her and kiss him until he made love to her without mercy. But instead she restrained her rage and in a cool voice announced, "Tionne has placed me on the teaching rota. I am taking a junior fitness class once a day, to start off with and then an intermediate saber workout. I thought she and Kam would have discussed that with you?"

Luke beamed, slightly relieved at the mention of Academy business instead of their more personal affairs. "You must tell me how you get on. Not that I have any worries and I'm sure Kam and Tionne haven't either, otherwise you wouldn't have been asked. There are a couple of children with real talent in some of those classes. I'm glad you have agreed to teach some of these classes. The students will benefit greatly from your skill and experience. You will really stretch their ability. They haven't discussed it with me because I am not head of the school any more. They may mention it at tonight's meeting." He stretched out his hand as if he was going to clap her on the shoulder and then for some reason only known to him, he instead picked up his tunic and his towel and made his way towards the showers leaving Mara still fuming.

'Just keep going, Skywalker,' Luke thought to himself. He could feel Mara's frustration buffeting at his shields. If he'd touched her he would have… Luke clamped down on the erotic image that sprung into his mind. He wasn't ready to think like that. 'Sure, Skywalker,' his inner voice taunted. 'Where Mara Jade is concerned you have always been ready. You just told yourself you were a better man and didn't give in to your baser instincts. Strange the lies we use to deceive ourselves.' Luke knew that if he touched her again, he would never be able to let her go.

After she'd returned to Yavin, waiting around for Luke to make any sort of move had been an anathema to Mara. But several weeks had passed by and nothing had happened. Mara had never been idle in her entire life and she wasn't about to start now. She'd asked Tionne if there were any classes she could take and the pale beauty had only been too pleased to lessen the strain on the timetable. Ix Io had remained behind on Elrood to facilitate things and Kirana Ti was only going to be on Yavin IV for a couple of weeks before heading back to Elrood to supervise the final stages of the treaty. Mara had jumped at the chance, considering it to be a way of making Luke see that she was serious in tying her fate to that of the Jedi and him in particular.

"Are you ready, Mara?" Tionne asked when the redhead had met her in her office after breakfast and the workout with Luke.

"I would prefer to teach something physical rather than philosophical," Mara had said. "The history of the Jedi still leaves me reeling. I'm getting there but I'm not quite confident to face a class of adolescents who probably know far more than me on the subject."

"You know far more than they do just by having been around Palpatine, Vader and of course, Luke. The trick is staying one step ahead. If you don't know the answer to the question you tell them that you don't know but you will find out. Honesty they will respect."

"It sounds easy that way and maybe I will eventually but…" She considered the idea briefly and grinned. "No, not yet. Perhaps once I feel a little more secure."

Tionne tilted her head to one side and surveyed Mara. "If you are sure?"

"I am. I just don't feel as confident with that side of things just yet. I'm still trying to catch up with my reading – if I ever do."

Tionne laughed. "I understand. I still feel that way myself and I know the Master does. He still researches as much as he ever did. I sometimes think that I will never stop learning."

"Luke says that and for once I agree with him."

"I'm sure you agree with him quite often."

Mara exhaled noisily. "Not at the moment."

Tionne gave the red-head a sympathetic smile. "Could you cover some of Kirana Ti's classes as she returns to Elrood tomorrow and then we can reassess what you might be most useful in teaching?"

"If that is acceptable?"

"Believe me, it is," Tionne said laughingly. "Fitness and saber workouts suit you?"

"Perfectly," Mara assured the other woman as she got to her feet.

"Mara…"

"What?"

"Be patient," Tionne said, her face serious. "Luke will come around. You need to keep your focus until he does."

Mara froze, her hand pausing as it reached for the door control. Was she so transparent? Did everyone know how she felt apart from Luke? It was her intention to let the whole galaxy know her feelings for the Jedi Master. Perhaps this was a good way to start. "Do you think so?"

Tionne found it difficult to keep the wonder from her expression. Mara's face had held such naked yearning that the final piece of Tionne's acceptance of her fell into place. "I do. He's been alone for a long time as a man and as a Jedi."

"Is it so obvious how I feel?" Mara said, her voice husky.

"No, but Kam and I know Luke well and we're beginning to get to know you too. Just be patient."

"I'm trying to do so but…" She bowed her head and clenched her fists. "It's so difficult. He's so stubborn."

"He knows," Tionne's pearly grey gaze held wisdom. "Deep inside his heart he knows what you mean to him and he to you. He's just not allowing himself to believe and until he does…"

"I understand," Mara whispered.

"You are also stubborn," the other woman advised. "It can be a strength as well as a weakness. Don't let it become your weakness. Don't let your anger win over your compassion. Luke has been hurt badly many times and is afraid to trust. If it helps, he is closer to you than he ever was to Callista. There are rooms available to you in the main Jedi complex if you want them but I would think carefully. If you consider moving out of Luke's quarters he may see that as abandonment."

"Thank you," Mara said, her bewilderment showing. She hadn't expected such kindness and understanding from the other woman. Luke had urged her many times to give other beings a chance. As usual, he was right, damn him.

Her classes had gone well. Most of the students had seen her about the Academy and recognised her as one of the newest Jedi knights. They had read the gossip in the holo-press back home about her varied and supposedly scandalous life until she had joined the Jedi full time. They also recognised her closeness to the Jedi Master. If the Master accepted her totally then they would do so too. Mara had been pleased with the ease of their unquestioning acceptance of her as a teacher. She was all too aware of what most of the galaxy thought about her.

Buoyed by her day's success with the younger Jedi students, she had headed back to her room with a lighter step until she had moved through the cover of trees to see Luke standing in the small clearing outside their quarters, his gaze trained on the sky.

Mara could see the longing written across his handsome face. He longed to be out there among those stars. She hesitated, unwilling to disturb his solitude. He wasn't unhappy - she could sense that much – just contemplative.

"Mara?" As ever, he sensed her presence and turned to face her.

"Luke," she said gently as realisation set in. "You want to be out there, among those stars, don't you?"

"Oh, Mara…" he whispered. "It's not as easy as that."

"I never said it was easy. All I said was that you want to be out there. You want to fly."

His smile was bittersweet. "Yes and no. I cannot be as I once was. You already know that we cannot unlearn what we already know. I have responsibilities."

"But these responsibilities – the Jedi and the rest of the galaxy - have taken over your life. When do you get to do what you want?"

"Perhaps that's what I'm doing." His face lifted again, his eyes fixed on the sky. "Perhaps this is exactly what I want or what the Force wants for me. Who can say?"

"You would know." Mara raised her chin, ready to argue.

"Would I? Sometimes we don't know what is best for us until another points that out. Sometimes we make a decision that we have to make – even if it's the wrong one. It's not until we do, that we realise where our priorities lie." He glanced at her and looked away quickly, not meeting her gaze. "Regrets? I have them. Of course, I have them. Who doesn't?"

"What kind of regrets?"

"Too many to mention," he said. "But I cannot go back. I cannot unlearn what I now know."

"But can you change?" Mara demanded.

"Change? Certainly. I have to be adaptable in my profession. But I can never again be the naïve boy from Tatooine. No one can go that far back. That task is impossible."

As he turned his head away from her, she felt the simmering anger that had been with her since she'd awoken that morning begin to burn. "Where is it written that a Jedi Master must be alone? Can you show me the exact text?" Her voice was bitter.

Luke blinked. She was angry about something. When he'd first met her she had always been angry. He'd been the source of that anger and he suspected that on this occasion he was at the root of her anger again. Could it have something to do with last night and the kiss he was trying to forget ever took place? "Mara…I…"

"Oh, forget it."

Luke recovered and stepped closer, his eyes peering at her face in the gathering gloom. This was important to her. No, he knew that _he_ was important to her. "Some beings are better off alone. I suspect that I am one of them. It's my choice, Mara."

"Choice!" She laughed but there was no humour in the sound. "You choose to give up on life. On living…on love? You choose the arrogance of deciding that you know how another being will react to your choices. You are condemning any chance for us without even _trying_."

He tried to close his ears to the familiar litany. First Altra, then Han and Leia, and now, Mara. "No."

"Yes, you do."

"I gave my life to the Jedi. I'm not giving up on anything."

"What quality is there in that?" She shrugged. "You have the satisfaction of doing what Yoda and Kenobi wanted you to. You saved the Jedi but I think you've given up a lot for them. What about a real home with a wife and a family?"

Luke heard her words. _'A wife and a family.' _He had given up on that dream when Callista had left him and he couldn't countenance that dream coming back to life again. For when it failed, as it surely would, it would kill him. He cleared his throat roughly. "You are now a fully-trained Jedi, Mara. You know the risks that we undertake, yet I wouldn't have it any other way. Surely you must understand now how richly rewarding such a life can be."

"Of course I do." Her green eyes bored into his. "I never suggested that it wasn't. But I want more and I'm going to get more." She stalked around him. "Are you happy?" she questioned. "Truly happy?"

"I am content."

"I did not ask you if you were content, Skywalker. I asked you if you were happy. There is a difference."

Luke shrugged, his face shadowed. "Can anyone be that way?"

"Yes, I think so."

"Are _you_ happy, Mara?" Luke wanted to know. He stared at her in the fading light, her cheek a pale contrast against the darkness all around them.

"Sometimes," she answered gravely. She was happy when she was with _him_. Mara moved to where a strand of the dark red jungle roses snaked up the outside wall of their quarters and let her hand drift out to stroke the closed, velvety petals. "Do you feel lonely?" She asked, as she inhaled the scent of the exotic bloom.

"Yes…sometimes." Luke's voice as he echoed her own words was so quiet that Mara had to strain to hear him. "Do you?"

Mara sighed. "Of course, I get lonely but like you, I try to get on with my life. I have good friends and I now have the Jedi. You are my greatest friend…"

"I know and you are mine."

She let go of the flowers, the action releasing a wave of their heady scent in his direction and turned to face him. She decided to increase the pressure on Luke. He wouldn't like the tenor of her questions but she had to start him thinking. She had to make him see that the Force meant them to be together. The name of Skywalker had to survive for generations to come. She froze – where had that come from?

"Mara?" Luke queried, feeling a sudden shift in her emotions.

"Can you still love?" she blurted out awkwardly.

Luke's face paled, his eyes glittering in the fading light. "Love?" he coughed, clearing his throat. He hadn't prepared himself for a cross examination of this nature. Mara Jade was one of the most intelligent women of his acquaintance and could run rings around him. The scent of the flowers surrounded him, reminding him of the bloom Mara had left on his pillow as he'd slept – the flower he had pressed and kept so carefully. "Of course. I love my sister, Han, their family…"

"I know you love your family but that's not exactly what I'm referring to." Mara stepped closer. "Love…" she whispered, her eyes boring into his with a strange intensity. "Love between man and woman. Romantic love…sexual love…and don't give me any of that Jedi Master devoting his life to the order rubbish." She pinned him in place with her gaze. "You are afraid."

Luke found that his limbs were shaking. "What is this all in aid of, Jade?" Vainly, he tried to inject some sternness into his voice. But inside he knew and, yes, he was afraid.

"Mara," she breathed, her hands gripping his arms. "My name is _Mara_. I'm talking about the thing you know is happening between us that you seem desperate to avoid. I'm talking about the love between two Jedi. Love stronger than anything the galaxy has ever known. A bond so strong that it can call across time and space itself. Love that can will someone on the edge of death to cling to life."

Luke was stunned and it showed. A muscle worked in his cheek but he said nothing as he fought for his control.

Mara anxiously wet her dry lips, her voice fading away to almost nothing. "What I'm talking about is the love between you and me. It's far more than mere friendship that we share. It's more than a love between a sister and brother. It's like nothing I've ever experienced anywhere. This love of ours resonates through the very Force itself. How can you not feel what we could have together? Surely you can feel the power?"

His blue eyes widened and his mouth worked a couple of times. The little shoot of hope unfurled more leaves and began to strengthen its roots. Was she serious? He couldn't imagine Mara not being serious about something of this importance. He stared into her beautiful face, his mind a blank.

Discouraged by his silence, Mara loosened her hands from his arms and stepped back. But she had to finish this, she'd gone this far. She had to tell him the truth. "I love you, Luke," she said, her voice clear and strong. "I have loved you for so long that part of me thinks that I always have." She shrugged, her hands slipping into the pocket of her tunic. "I can't remember when I stopped wanting to kill you and started to love you instead. I'm not Callista. I don't worship the Jedi Master above the man and I won't disappear – not willingly from your life – not even if you tell me to go. I'm not going anywhere without you. On your next dangerous mission, I'm coming with you. But I cannot watch you run yourself into the ground through melancholy and overwork. I cannot see everyone else find happiness with a partner and you remain obdurate and alone when you could have _me_ in your life." She swallowed painfully. "Tionne has offered me quarters in the main building and I'm thinking about taking them. I'm not giving up on us. I'm giving you space to think."

"No, Mara…"

"Yes, Luke. I have to finish what I'm saying. I have to tell you everything. "I think you love me too and I cannot understand why you are subjecting us both to such pain. I never expected to love…never wanted to and then you came along." She made a sound that was half laughing, half sobbing. "How could I resist you? How could I last so long without falling for you? It was inevitable – it is my destiny."

"But Lando…"

"Was nothing…is nothing. You must know by now that he didn't mean anything to me. I told you the truth about it. Why can't you believe me?"

"I do believe you, it's just…"He brought his hands up to his face and rubbed his eyes. "I know you told me that your relationship with Lando wasn't real but Lando was definitely interested in you, in your beauty and your intelligence… He's a good man – intelligent, wealthy, sophisticated…"

"So what? I found him vain and shallow for a good seventy percent of our time together. He was in another woman's bed within days as soon as I indicated that I wasn't attracted to him. Even before he came along, _you_ were the one I was interested in. It was your good opinion that I wanted – yours that mattered. He can be a pleasant companion occasionally but he was never the one for me. _I want you. _I was wrong not to tell you the truth because I do trust you more than any other being in the galaxy. I _was_ going to tell you that it was an arrangement but you turned away. You started to avoid me and I thought I had lost my dearest friend – one who I'd begun to think of as more than a friend - and I couldn't understand why."

"Jade," Luke murmured, appalled at the hurt he could sense. He never wanted to cause her pain and unknowingly he had. He was still doing so.

Mara put her hands up to her flushed cheeks and found that they came away wet. "I think you avoided me because I was with Lando – you were jealous. Lando was the man I was with and not you. You thought I was kissing him, sharing his bed – you couldn't stomach seeing me with another man." She was crying? "Luke, say something. Anything…please."

Luke opened and shut his mouth a few times, confusion written across his face. He really hadn't expected this. She was right. He had been jealous. If he knew they were to attend some function together, he had stayed away unable to bear the uncomfortable feeling that Mara should have been there with him and not Lando. Altra had said that Mara loved him but he never in a million years thought that was true. Han and Leia had been angry at his intractable refusal to see what was right beside him. He hadn't even considered that Mara might reciprocate his feelings. Yes, they had a bond like no other amongst the Jedi. Yes, they had called to one another across the vast reaches of space and yes, he loved her more than his own life. And now Mara was standing before him pouring out those feelings, tears running down her cheeks. She had never looked so beautiful to him in her vulnerability and he didn't know what to say. "I need to think…" he muttered and could have hit himself. What was there to think about? Where was the reckless, impetuous Luke Skywalker that had left Tatooine on a beat up old starship not knowing where he was going or what he was doing?

He needed to _think?_ She couldn't believe her ears until she looked closely at him. Perplexity and bafflement was written all over his face and in his voice was something Mara couldn't recall ever hearing from Luke Skywalker – it was panic pure and simple. She had to give him time to think even though her first impulse was to persevere with her emotional onslaught on his feelings. She pulled together her own fraying emotions and wove them tightly together. He needed her to be strong and she would be. "You have a meeting," Mara said, glancing down at her wrist chrono, hoping he didn't hear the shake in her voice.

"A meeting! Why would I want to go to a meeting at a time like this?" Luke bit out in frustration running his hand through his hair leaving it standing on end. "You…"

"Because it's Academy business and you are expected to be there?" She moved forward, her face shaded with pain and lifted her hand, smoothing the tangle he had made and brushing a lock of hair away from his face. "Go, you'll be late otherwise."

"But Mara. We need to talk. It doesn't matter about the meeting…"

"Go," she insisted. "I won't do anything until you return."

"Mara…" Luke's face showed his complete indecision.

"Go, or they'll send someone to fetch you." She smiled bravely and turned away, walking as quickly as she could into their quarters, feeling his eyes watching her as she went.

Luke didn't move until the door slid shut behind her leaving him alone. For what seemed like an age, he stood silently, unable to think or even breathe. His mind was whirling and his heart desperately pounding inside his chest. She loved him. He wanted to shout it to the stars. She really loved him. He could feel it. He began to run towards the central complex, his heart full. Suddenly he stopped and just stood staring upwards his face a picture of the incredulity and amazement he was feeling. "She loves me," he said aloud. Mara wouldn't lie to him…couldn't lie to him.

Did it change the way he felt about himself and his life? No, he thought, and wondered at the anguish threatening to consume him. But somewhere inside, the tiny shoot of hope began to speak. He stiffened his shoulders and began to re-examine himself anew. 'Luke. It's time to revolutionize the way you think. This could change everything for good. You wouldn't have to be alone.'

_"Everything?"_ he thought, shaking his head. "Of course, this changes everything. Skywalker you are a fool," he said aloud. "The most beautiful woman in the galaxy tells you that she's in love with you and you go to a meeting."

Luke flicked open his comlink. "Kam? You don't really need me at tonight's meeting, do you?"

"No, Luke. It's just the usual curriculum business…a continuation of the stuff we discussed the other day. I know your views and agree with them."

"Good. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Anything wrong?"

"No…no, nothing's wrong."

Kam wasn't so sure. He had felt some strained emotions rocketing around the Temple complex all day and Tionne had told him about her conversation with Mara. None of the other Jedi had relationships that were so volatile. He would bet his saber that the precarious calm between Skywalker and Jade had all but ended. He only hoped that Luke would see sense and grasp what was so totally obvious to the rest of the Jedi. He knew it would be only a matter of time before the intuitive man saw what he could have in his life. "What about Mara?" he probed carefully.

"She's fine. Why do you ask?" There was suspicion in Luke's voice.

"I can sense something… The Force is strangely vibrant this evening and Mara is important to you. Nothing is wrong - is there?"

"No, nothing is wrong," he denied quickly. Everyone had guessed how he felt about Mara Jade – he surmised that he hadn't been able to hide it from his friends. Kam had almost said straight out that he knew Luke and Mara had…issues with one another. And Mara had guessed too. She had already told him that. He flicked off his com and began walking away from the central complex, skirting the edge of the forest until he reached the hangar where his x-wing was stored. Climbing up the ladder, he popped the canopy open and slid inside. The smell of the leather seat, mixed with engine coolant and fuel, hit his nostrils, comforting and easing his jumbled emotions. He'd once lived only to fly but that was partly to escape the drudgery of his life on Tatooine and he'd long since moved on from that section of his past. Perhaps it was time to move on once more. Did he have the courage to do something he'd sworn he would never do again? He let his head fall back on the headrest and closed his eyes. Could he take that final step?

Mara Jade was in love with him, Luke Skywalker. For her to actually admit it must have taken some courage but then, she was one of the bravest beings he knew. This was no sudden green love. He could feel its depth and richness through their bond in the Force. He could feel her shining presence shimmering at the edge of his own consciousness. All he needed to do was open his own shields and her essence would mingle with his own for all time. He opened his eyes and his hands went to his lightsaber unfastening the casing. Inside, in the newly modified casing, two lightsaber crystals nestled together. His new gem, the darker colour indicating Luke's maturity, experience and growth in the Force, and the first jewel he had constructed, the one he had used to free Mara from her enslavement, sat next to each other. However, he couldn't remember it ever containing the burst of scarlet fire he could now see at its heart.

Yes, Kam was correct. The Force was strangely vibrant this evening. It was as if it was waiting for something to happen, poised on the very edge of an indrawn breath.

His finger traced the crystals gently. All he had to do was stretch out with his feelings and let her completely into his heart. It sounded so simple but it was one of the most difficult things he'd ever had to do. She'd invaded his being without his permission, despite his shields. Perhaps his heart was more aware of what he should have done and he had yet to let his mind totally accept his love for the beautiful Jedi, too. The barriers there were more substantial and far more difficult to get around. Would the price to pay be too high? What would happen if he yielded to her?

_'Trust your feelings, Luke.'_

As ever when Luke was in a crisis, the words of his first mentor returned to guide him with their wisdom and he'd heard them twice in a matter of a few days even though Obi-Wan was long gone. He'd been trying to ignore those feelings for so long. Yes, she was in his heart and his mind. She had called to him and he had answered her call in the way that only true-mated Jedi would understand.

The breath left Luke's body in a rush and he clenched his fingers tightly. True-mated Jedi? A mating bond… He had read about them and they did exist, or had existed. Still, even at the height of the Jedi's power there had been few. Had he, Luke Skywalker, formed a mating-bond with Mara Jade? This was so rare that there were virtually no writings upon the subject.

His mouth dropped open. He had denied the love that the Force had ordained for him - well, he hadn't actually denied it. But he had refrained from acting upon it. This _was_ the Force's doing. Mara Jade had been meant for Luke Skywalker all along. She was the woman that he knew could match him in all things.

He closed the saber casing, attaching it to its accustomed place on his belt and climbed swiftly from the x-wing cockpit. He had to see her immediately. She wouldn't be expecting him to return yet from the meeting. How could he concentrate on anything so mundane as curriculum and timetables when his head was swirling as if he were coming out of hyperspace in a spin. Had he enough courage to give in?

He brushed down his tunic and stared at his black knee boots to see if they were clean and adjusted the cloak about his shoulders. What did she see in him? She, who could have anyone in the galaxy. Luke walked towards the building housing his quarters and stretched out carefully wondering if Mara was still there or had she already moved to the set of rooms Tionne had been saving for her in the central building complex. He wanted her to stay with him but was he brave enough to accept her love and everything that went with it? Suppose it was a temporary feeling? Suppose… Luke tried to take a grip on his spiralling emotions. If he didn't accept what she was offering would she leave him? If she left his quarters would that be the gradual beginning of a separation between them. Could he stand back and watch her start a relationship with another Lando?

The answer to that one was a definite, resounding 'no'.

Frantically, Mara rummaged through her closet until she found her black leather jumpsuit. It had been quite a while since she'd worn it. If she was going to seduce Skywalker, she had a hunch that this was the outfit that might work the best. It would hopefully lull him into a sense of false security or increase his temperature or both. She tried to dampen her continued feelings of emotional confusion. She had argued with Luke about her need for emotion but Mara knew that she also needed to balance it with some Jedi calm. Perhaps to gain ground with the obstinate Jedi Master, she had to think like him. She placed the outfit on her bed ready to put on, the ordinariness of such an act helping to soothe her anxious mind.

Quickly she showered and changed, leaving her hair loose, rippling down her back to her waist. 'I should really get it cut,' she thought. 'It's rather impractical this long.' But something stopped her every time and it was the sudden glow in Luke's eyes when they rested on her red-gold hair as it curled loose around her shoulders.

Impatiently, she checked the chrono. He would be at least another hour so she could try to relax while she waited for the axe to fall. She wandered through to the kitchen and dug around in the cupboard for the bottle of wine she'd hidden along with Luke's supply of hot chocolate. The desire to polish off the contents to give her courage was tempting but Mara wanted to be certain of what she was doing and would do it better with a clear head. Still, perhaps one glass wouldn't hurt.

Luke paused outside his quarters and stretched out to see if Mara was still there. She seemed preoccupied, so he cloaked his presence and slid the door open.

"Damn!" she muttered as her head connected with the top of the cupboard.

Luke walked to the kitchen door and stared at the curved set of black leather-clad feminine hips sticking out of the bottom of his kitchen cabinet. His temperature immediately skyrocketed. Someone had once unwisely said in Luke's hearing, that Mara Jade's derriere clothed in black leather was one of the wonders of the universe. That same being would never dare voice such an expression again.

"Well, there's something you don't see every day," he said as matter-of-factly as he could, hoping Mara didn't notice the way his voice had cracked the way it had done when he was a callow youth back on Tatooine.

"What!" Mara spun around and just missed connecting with the cupboard door once more. "Luke?"

"See any one else, Jade?" he asked, his voice deepening as she turned around and stood up, the bottle of red wine clutched tightly in her hand.

"A drink," he murmured. "How nice."

She stared at him as he reached out and took the bottle from her suddenly shaky fingers. His face was white, his eyes glittering with a strange fierce expression but other than that he seemed composed.

"Luke…"

"Let's have a drink, Mara. Let us discuss things without our emotions being so heated."

"What!" Mara exclaimed. "You sithspawned…"

"There is no emotion, there is peace, remember?"

"I changed that part." Mara collected her escaping wits. "There _is_ emotion and I'm not discussing anything with you otherwise. I'm not a machine."

"That's quite obvious in that outfit, Jade," Luke said, his voice dropping. "Reminds me of how we first met."

"Long time ago," Mara said, her gaze meeting his bravely. "We've both changed so much."

"Yes, the Jedi and the Emperor's Hand."

He turned and made his way into the lounge area but as he did so, he glanced back over his shoulders and watched as Mara's face seemed to quiver, her whole demeanour appearing lost and a dart of despair launched into his breast. Luke winced as the desolation filled his soul. This was how she was feeling?

Mara's shaking hand picked up two wine glasses from the kitchen work top but for a moment she was unable to follow Luke into the lounge area. She'd opened her heart to him not even an hour ago and he'd just looked at her as if nothing had happened. She'd been so certain of his feelings. Now she wasn't sure what to think.


	4. Chapter 34

**The Emerald Price Chapter 34**

****

**By Ash Darklighter**

****

**Disclaimer:**- The characters and situations used in this story are the property of George Lucas and Lucasfilm Ltd. I am only using them for some entertainment and will not even make one Republican credit from this endeavour. This is set around eight to ten years after Luke and Mara met each other for the first time. This one is for all the girls on the AA list and of course for Mona – what would I do without you? My thanks also to Niqella and Rhea for their encouragement and invaluable suggestions.

Mara cursed inwardly as a composed Luke seated himself on one of the comfortable sofas; his discarded cloak draped carelessly across the back of one of his red greel-wood dining chairs. She watched with barely concealed interest as he shuffled around nervously until he settled into a comfortable position. 'So he's not as self-assured as he would have me believe,' she thought. 'It doesn't make me feel any better – suppose I was wrong and I misconstrued what I overheard. What do I do if…?' It was then that she put a stop to her wayward thoughts before they threatened to run out of control. 'No, I know he loves me,' she thought. 'I can feel it. I'm just nervous.'

She hadn't sensed his approach, hadn't even noticed him until he'd been standing directly behind her. That wasn't good news if he'd been an enemy. Nor, if she was being tested by a Jedi Master reluctant to love because it was a distraction. She'd been too intent on finding a bottle of wine – too intent on what she was going to say to him when they finally faced one another again. It had been easy to concentrate on the wine. She'd shipped several crates to Yavin IV and knew she had placed several bottles for Luke's own use in amongst his stores. He wasn't a heavy drinker but occasionally relaxed with a glass in the privacy of his own quarters. He took far too much upon himself when it came to the Yavin Jedi Academy even when he was now officially no longer head of the school, she thought. A pile of data cards she'd removed from the occasional table to his desk earlier were evidence of that. He needed to relax more. She'd seen him so many times at the end of a mission looking pale and exhausted. But she supposed it was better than having him fished out of the bacta tank. That had happened far too many times for her liking also.

"_Well, there's something you don't see every day."_

The slowly drawled words had been admiring. Mara scowled and gingerly rubbed her aching skull. Why hadn't she felt him approach? That was an easy one to answer. She'd been far too intent on how Luke made her feel just by being close to him and he was probably cloaking his presence. She'd told him everything – she had no secrets left. What was she expecting to happen – what was he going to do? He hadn't turned and opened his arms to her like they did on all the daytime holo-dramas. Instead he'd looked hunted and had run away to hide at a meeting of the Academy's directors…or had he? He had returned to his quarters rather quickly. In Mara's experience, these meetings could, and did, go on for hours. So where had he been? Had he spoken to anyone?

The effect on her when they'd kissed had been wonderful but it didn't do much for her concentration and she had the feeling that she would need all her wits about her if she was to proceed with her plan to seduce him. Force, it sounded so cold and calculating when it was anything but. He did love her – she just had to get him to admit it. He'd gone through so much – they both had – that she understood how hard it could be for Luke to admit something so close to his heart. Getting kindness from Palpatine might have been easier to attain. She collected the glasses she'd found and took them through to the lounge area, placing them on the low table which sat in between the two sofas.

There was an awkward silence. They'd crossed the imaginary line which marked their friendship. It would lead to either something more or something less. They would never again be as they had been. They could not go back – could not unlearn what they already knew - and they both understood it but for now, they both needed a little calm - the eye in the centre of the storm. Mara pushed the bottle opener across to Luke, needing the awkwardness to end. "If you would do the honours?"

"Of course," he replied. "One of your cache?"

"Yes," she said. "I know you like red wine."

He gave a little smile, her consideration of his needs warming his heart. She always looked out for things he liked. He had enough hot chocolate supplies to last him for the rest of the year. "I do like," he said as he opened the bottle. "Borleias?" he queried, identifying the planet where the wine originated.

Mara nodded as Luke handed her a glass of the deep red liquid. She took a grateful sip letting her taste buds absorb the rich flavour. "Yes. That's one from the Alderaan biotics installation. They produce a good vintage."

He swallowed the mellow liquid and closed his eyes momentarily in satisfaction. "Yes, they do. This is a nice wine. One of the few good things Ysanne Isaard and the Empire did set up was that facility using the techniques and plant species from Alderaan. But the rest of her supposed output…" Luke gave a shake of his head.

"You're right. She was a horrible woman," Mara said with a shudder. "She caused a lot of misery and strife throughout the galaxy. Grand Admiral Thrawn had his mind set on order and stability. 'Iceheart' wanted what being Palpatine's mistress had failed to bring her – real power. In the end, she gave the galaxy total chaos."

"I agree."

"Luke…" She hesitated, her tongue touching her lips briefly. "We need to talk. About what I said earlier…"

Luke couldn't believe the sudden dread that swept through him. She hadn't meant it and wanted to retract her statement. "Its okay, Mara." He prepared himself for the emptiness her next words would bring.

"No, it's _not_ okay," she snapped. Damn him, he wanted to make everything easy for her. _There is no emotion there is peace_ sounded loudly from somewhere inside her head. She ignored it. "I wanted to…"

"Apologise, take it all back?" Luke retorted, his manner surly.

"No, that's not it at all. I'm not sorry for any of what I said and I meant every word. I'm not taking back one syllable."

Luke blinked. That was clear enough. "So..." he muttered. "You meant it."

"Have you ever known me to say things that I didn't mean to you?"

"Uh…no. But Tionne…"

"Has been offering me quarters in the main temple complex ever since I arrived here."

"Then you should go. You are a Jedi Knight now, not my apprentice, and it is fitting that you should have your own quarters." He tried to sound calmly sensible but inside his mind was screaming at him. '_She meant it. She does love you_. _Force, Skywalker! Do something about it and quickly.' _But he didn't. He just sat there, gripping the slender stem of his wineglass so hard that he thought it might break.

"You want me to go?" Mara asked. "You know how I feel about you and are of the opinion that it could be awkward if we're still living together. Perhaps I shouldn't have said anything but I had to be honest. I couldn't keep my feelings to myself any longer."

"I want you to do what _you_ want to do," he said irritably. "It cannot have been pleasant for you cramped in that tiny bedchamber." He took a fortifying swallow from his glass, letting the liquid swill around his taste buds.

Mara heard Luke's words, heard his reasonable tone and restrained her natural knee-jerk reaction to immediately pack her things and move out. But somehow, she knew that he was unhappy about this turn of affairs. It was then that she totally understood how he thought. Tionne was right. If she left him, he would see her as abandoning him, even though he had given her leave to go.

He was doing it again – sacrificing his own happiness for her. Luke was the only one who had ever done such a thing for her. No matter how hard this could become, she now knew that she hadn't any choice. She loved him and had told him so. By the way of the natural order of things, Mara should wait for Luke to take some sort of step towards her but she was unsure of his emotional readiness. Occasionally Luke needed time to sort out the tangled thoughts that scrambled around inside his sandy head. He had no idea how much he really needed her. She was going to have to play this one out to the very end.

"All I need is a place to sleep." Her green gaze caught sight of the white-knuckled grip he had on his wine glass. He was caught in an emotional trap. He loved her very much even though he hadn't wanted to love another woman. Jem, Gaerial…Callista – he saw as failures on _his_ part. He was wrong.

He had resolved to weather things alone, never to be hurt again but neither did he want Mara to leave him and fall in love with someone else. She had to make him see that she wasn't like other women – that she wouldn't hurt him the way these others had. She swallowed and reached over, easing his fingers from the glass and placing it on the table in front of them. "I think Tionne thought that I had designs on your body. I underestimated her."

"Why?" Luke asked, his face a perfect picture of puzzlement.

"Because she was right. I _do_ have designs on your body," she stated boldly, her pulse fluctuating wildly as she thought about the form of the man she had admired for so long. Mara moved to sit beside him and grasped his real hand with her own.

"You do? You…"

His voice rose and then drifted away as Mara began gently rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb. Luke's gaze focused on the tender motion. "I don't want to move out," she said. "Not unless you want me to go?"

Luke closed his eyes. "You should," he said roughly, the words sounding as if they'd been torn from his throat. "But, no. I don't want you to go."

"I did wonder if you wanted your privacy back – your own space?"

He opened his eyes and in them, Mara could see the feelings he was fighting to suppress. "I've been with the Alliance since I was eighteen. It's very rare I have enough space to call my own but no, I'd like you to stay."

"Why?"

"I've got used to having you around, Jade."

"Is that all?" she queried.

"I would…miss you."

"You would?"

Luke's eyes darkened. "Of course I would."

She moved a little closer. "Then I'll never go."

"Never?" He asked quietly, the pain he held deep in his vividly coloured eyes tearing at her heart. "Don't make promises you can't keep. It's not fair to either of us."

"I'll tell Tionne tomorrow. I think she guessed anyway."

Luke sat motionless; his eyes straying to where Mara's small pale hand linked with his larger sun-browned one. "Mara, I…"

She sighed. "I'm not abandoning you. I'd never do that," she said. "Whatever happens, wherever we go, no matter how far away it is, I will never abandon you. I love you. We are bonded through the Force."

"Bonded?" Luke sat up.

"This thread that binds us together is like no other the Jedi have seen in my admittedly limited experience – it seems unique. I tried to find out why this was so but could find out very little. The Jedi did not mate often in the past but when they did and the Force accepted the union, it was something to be wondered at and treasured."

"But there is nothing… I searched all my records."

"There is very little but there was enough for me to read between the lines. It was a rare occurrence and even though the members of the Jedi Order did not usually mate there were always exceptions to their rules. This was considered to be so special that it was like a gift from the Force itself. I wonder if Kam could shed any more light on this? He grew up amongst the Jedi. We _should_ be together – _will_ be together. I'm fighting for us, Skywalker."

"What if I don't fight back?"

"You are fighting." Mara gave him a cocky, sensual smile. "And you are losing that fight because you badly want to lose." She leaned forward and hissed into his ear, her breath making him shiver with a delicious anticipation. "When we make love for the first time, Farmboy, I will remind you of how you lost this battle but you won't care."

"Mara, I can't deal with the pain any more," Luke said wearily, the strain showing on his face. A Jedi bond? He had thought this to be the stuff of legends and not truth. "I cannot deal with…"

"Pain?" She jerked her hands from his. "Pain? What can't you deal with? What pain? What's wrong, Luke. Tell me, I can help."

There was a strained silence then he whispered, "Love."

"But you can," she murmured softly, again pressing herself close to his side in comfort. "I've never met anyone else with so much love in them. I know you love me. The Force is with us in this. I've never known you not to follow the dictates of the Force before. Do you not believe me?"

He made a sudden little movement at her words. "Mara…"

"No," she said. "Don't deny it any more. I know you _do_ love me. I can feel it – I can feel how powerful it is. You knew I was in trouble because of our bond. I was at the other side of the galaxy, not in the next room. You came for me when no one else would. You gave me your strength to help me live."

"Gratitude," Luke bit out harshly. "I don't want…"

"You know me better than that, Skywalker," she retorted. "I'm grateful to Karrde for a job and the chance to feel useful and respected once more but I don't love him in the way that I love you. He is a respected colleague and trusted friend but that's where it ends. He doesn't make my body sing by its closeness to his. He cannot hear me call to him across the stars. You can. He does not love me and I do not love him. There has never been love between us. How can there be when there is only one man in the entire galaxy that I could ever feel so strongly for." She grasped his hand again and resumed her stroking, sending little quivers of feeling along his nerves.

With a deep breath Mara decided that now was the time. He still hadn't admitted to _her_ that he loved her but he had admitted as much to Han Solo. He couldn't hide it from her now – she could see the depth of feeling on his face. Yes, he loved her. She stretched out her hand and touched his smooth-shaven cheek, trailing her fingers across it in a gentle caress. Her eyes darkened to sage and Luke could read her intent. Hell, he could feel it. The bond they shared shimmered sensuously between them. It was as if it was meant to be. It had always been there between them even when she'd hated him. She'd never been able to ignore who and what he was. Luke had always assumed that she'd transferred her link after Palpatine's death to the nearest Jedi. He'd been the _only_ Jedi. She'd had no choice.

Mara knew that wasn't the case. Her abilities could have died with the Emperor but instead they had lain in abeyance until she'd connected with Luke. One of her hands cupped Luke's face, the other curved around the back of his neck bringing his head down until it was mere inches from her own.

Luke's heart began to beat a little faster. Force, she actually intended to try to seduce him. He'd been on the receiving end of such attempts from various women across the galaxy but he'd always managed to resist them before. Most of them hadn't even realised they'd been turned down. Mara was different from all of those other women. He hadn't been in love with them so resisting hadn't been like a fight against the Rancor. It had been easy to say no to something you didn't want. But Mara? Luke could feel his resolve wilting. He loved every part of this girl and wasn't sure about his ability to withstand the onslaught of her potent presence. He could feel her joined to him at all times and if he were honest about his own feelings, he didn't want to say no. Was she right – were they Force mated? Did such a phenomenon even exist?

Their lips parted and Luke could see Mara's small pink tongue dart out to moisten her sweetly curved lips. He could feel her tension and knew the exact moment when she pushed herself against him, her lips capturing his. It didn't make the effect any less surprising or less wonderful.

It was as if he'd gone into the centre of a star. He didn't want to resist her. He _couldn't_ resist her.

This was far more than any of their other kisses. That's all they had ever been – just kisses. This one had danger written all over it. Luke Skywalker had flirted with danger before, often going as far as courting it. But this time he was embracing it wholeheartedly.

With a satisfied sigh, Mara slid onto his lap, straddling his body with her thighs as she pressed herself against him, their mouths fused together as they continued to learn the taste of each other. She lifted her head and gazed at him, her eyes dark with some emotion he couldn't fully comprehend. Her lips parted only inches from his own - soft, ripe and lushly inviting.

Luke made a sound low in his throat, part anguish, part desire and for the first time sought Mara's mouth willingly. As his lips finally covered hers, Mara felt a shiver of triumph run through her.

Her lips parted allowing Luke's tongue access to the moist cavern of her mouth. His whole body was on fire, his barriers dissolving in the face of the raging need that surged in him for the woman in his arms. He could feel the swell of her breasts as they pressed against him and he let his hands trail down over her shoulders to rest on her leather-clad hips.

"Mara…" he muttered hoarsely between frantic kisses.

"No talking, Farmboy. Just feel." She pressed her body against his, her mouth fastening to his well-shaped lips. Mara's hands began to wander, to gently stroke and caress, finding the fasteners to his tunic, the catch to his belt. Her lips lingered against his cheek, softly bestowing tender kisses.

Luke's blood began to warm; he could feel himself reacting to the skilful seduction of Mara's lips and hands. This wasn't part of his plan. He was to maintain his Jedi control. He had not meant to show that her touch affected him so strongly. He had vowed never to let a woman cast her spell against him once more but he had not reckoned on the woman being Mara Jade. All coherent thought began to disappear as her power over him began to take control and he began to respond freely to her passion.

Mara's hands disposed of his utility belt and then undid the final fastener on his tunic, leaving him in his pale blue undershirt. The soft blue of the material made his eyes more mesmerising than ever. Beneath that item of apparel lay his smooth, tanned skin. Mara quickly removed his shirt, pushing it from his strong shoulders, letting her hands linger. Luke was not objecting. He was too involved in finding the hidden pulse at her throat. He lifted his shoulders, helping her get even closer to him. His mouth engaged on a journey of discovery as it tasted her sweetly scented skin.

Her hands splayed over his taut stomach muscles. Mara wanted to move them lower, to touch what lay beneath his long black Jedi pants but he wasn't ready yet. She could feel the bulge of his manhood against her body but resisted the temptation to push herself against it. Soon, she promised herself.

As Mara's hands covered his naked chest, Luke's libido moved into hyperspace, his hands suddenly fumbling for the fastenings that would release her from the corset-like top of her black leather jumpsuit.

"Mara…"

"Luke…I…"

The chime of the door announcer shocked them both into sudden stillness. They glanced warily at one another, the swift moment seeming like an age, the effects of their passion visible on each other's face.

"You are joking," Mara muttered, casting her eyes skywards. "This is not my fault." This really wasn't fair. She thought she had completed her Jedi trials.

"Force," mumbled Luke, almost pushing Mara from him. He stood upright, with a bewildered air, his eyes quickly seeking the whereabouts of his shirt and over tunic.

The door chime sounded again more insistently. Casting a regretful look at Luke, Mara moved into automatic mode, pulling her top back into place from where the Jedi Master's hands had managed to dislodge it. Swiftly fastening it, she made for the door sensing the urgency of the being on the other side. Running her hands hastily through her wild mane of red-gold hair, Mara hit the door control.

It was one of the younger students from her early morning class. "Shenara?" Mara queried, sensing that the young woman was distressed.

"It's Foss!"

Mara tried to think of the students she had seen with the girl. "Your friend…the Quarren?"

"Mistress Jade… I think he's sick!"

"Why didn't you contact the healers – use the Force?"

The young girl looked confused. "I don't know…you were the closest."

"Closest?" Mara echoed. Shenara hadn't been on Yavin for very long and hadn't quite mastered a natural use of the Force. She was also younger than many of the other students. "You weren't in the temple?"

"No…we meet in the clearing…it's very near to this part of the Academy. Sometimes we get lessons there."

"I know where it is," Mara said. "Is Foss still there?"

"Yes… Bekk is with him." Shenara lifted her head, and relief coloured her pale face. "Master Skywalker…"

"I heard. Are _you_ all right?"

Mara looked over her shoulder to see Luke standing behind her holding out her dark green Jedi cloak. She shrugged into it, her pulse speeding up when his fingers brushed her skin as he fastened the clasp at her throat. He only had to touch her and she felt her body react.

The girl nodded shakily. "Yes, Master Skywalker. I think something bit him."

"You did well to think of coming here first," he reassured her. "Probably one of the Juna spiders. They can cause an allergic reaction. It's unpleasant but not fatal."

Mara was impressed how he calmed and comforted and also gave the student confidence. She stepped forward and placed her arm around the shaking girl. "We'd better go and see what's wrong."

"I have just contacted the healers," Luke said, radiating composure. "They are waiting. Lead the way, Shenara."

Mara pulled her cloak from her shoulders and hung it on a hook beside the door. Luke had remained in the medical centre with the sick student. Shenara had been right; Foss _had_ been bitten by one of the Juna spiders. He was in good hands and would make a complete recovery. Dilys Van Osten had immediately taken charge like the born healer she was, as soon as she had been summoned.

Mara's shoulders slumped and her face relaxed into the troubled expression she kept hidden from all around her. She was beginning to wonder if perhaps the Force wasn't with her after all. She'd really thought that she had worn Luke down this time. The intervention had been timely.

She trailed wearily through to the main living area avoiding the sofa where she had tried to seduce Luke. Her element of surprise had gone. But then, she'd never kept her intentions secret from him. Once Luke had recovered his savoir faire, he'd been totally in control of the situation with Shenara and Foss. Despite her frustration, Mara had been impressed.

She wandered over to open the balcony doors and as she did so, glanced at Luke's desk. There was a light blinking on Luke's private communications console and Mara wandered over to activate the link. The image on the screen started forming into the one person Mara didn't think she could talk to right at this point in time.

"Luke… Oh, hello, Mara." The image wavered a little.

"Leia?"

Leia Organa Solo's beautifully composed visage finally coalesced in front of her on the vid-screen. "I just felt this sudden need to contact Luke. He is okay?"

"Yes, he's fine."

"Can I talk to him?" Leia pressed.

"He's seeing to one of the students. The boy was unexpectedly taken ill."

"Not seriously?" Leia's voice rose in alarm.

"No. Foss is recovering in the care of the Jedi healers," Mara hastened to say. "Luke is just being…"

"Luke?" Leia said dryly.

"Yes."

Leia assessed the red-headed woman she could see on her monitor. "What is it?" she asked gently. "You're upset about something. I can see it in your eyes. No, don't argue. I can." Her smile was sympathetic. "Maybe it wasn't Luke I needed to contact, it was you. He's being stubborn, isn't he?"

"Leia…I'm getting nowhere. I thought that if I achieved my knighthood and stayed here on Yavin with him, then the fact I loved him would be enough. Then I think we're getting somewhere and there's an interruption. A student or a meeting or…" She stopped and let out a disgruntled sigh. "The Force is not with me."

Leia pursed her lips for a moment. "With Luke the obvious is never enough. He thinks too much these days. Where is the impetuous boy I met on the original Death Star?"

"He's still there."

"Of course, he's there but he's being difficult."

"No…yes…no…I don't know." Mara's voice rose upwards. "He's Luke."

"And you still love him?" Leia interrogated. This was her brother's happiness after all. She had to be sure. "The feeling hasn't changed any?"

"Of course, I love him and no, nothing's changed. It's just grown stronger on my part."

"Have you told him?"

"Yes," Mara's voice dropped. "I told him."

Leia's brown eyes widened. She'd actually told him. "And…?"

"And…" Mara's face told the entire story without words. "It was wonderful until…"

"The ill student." Leia guessed, her face falling.

The red-headed woman nodded. "Yes, the ill student. It's not that I would deny any being help but why did it have to be right at that moment."

"Just dumb luck as my husband would say." Leia's voice was warm with sympathy.

"Why didn't I realise how I felt about your brother years ago? It's too late for me now."

"No, Mara. It's not too late," Leia's voice rang across the vast depth of space. "He loves you. You both know it to be true. You have to keep strong and trust in the Force."

"I'm trying." She levelled her green gaze on Leia and laughed. "I'm trying and don't add Farmboy's favourite quote about doing." She examined her hands, surprised at how steady they were. "He won't be long if you want to speak to him," she said.

"I'd like to give him a piece of my mind," Leia stated firmly. "Mara…you do love him?"

Luke keyed in his code and watched with impatience as the door slid open too slowly. Foss was going to be fine. The boy and his friends had been given a bit of a fright but that was all. He could have returned to his quarters with Mara half an hour ago but he hadn't been ready to do so. He was still trying to assimilate the way he had come apart in her arms. Again and again he heard her voice in his head telling him that she loved him.

"Of course I love him," Mara answered Leia, her voice plain and true.

"Well, do something about it," Leia ordered. "It's no good just sitting there feeling sorry for yourself."

Luke could hear her voice, clear as the sunrise on Tatooine. Luke blinked. Was she hearing his thoughts? No, she was telling his sister. He rushed forward aiming to… He stopped. What was he aiming to do? Mara wasn't telling Leia anything that he or Leia didn't already know. He loved Mara and he wanted her. He had to be careful with this.

Mara immediately sensed him as his turbulent emotions flooded towards her. "Luke…"

"Luke!" Leia's soft alto voice carried across the room.

The Jedi Master schooled his face into its habitual calm expression and approached the monitor. "Leia."

Mara slipped out of the seat and left Luke to face his sister. The Jedi Master stared at Mara but she averted her eyes from his and moved into the kitchen to give him some privacy.

"Luke!" Leia said sharply to gain his attention. "I just felt that I had to speak to you."

"Sorry," he muttered.

"What are you playing at?"

"What am I…?"

"That girl loves you," hissed Leia.

"This is my business," Luke snapped quietly. "Stay out of it."

"I'm your sister and I love you and I want you to be happy." She gave him a mocking grin. "It's my duty to interfere. You love her. You told me so. Why are you doing this to yourself and her? Mara doesn't deserve this. You are punishing her for something she hasn't done. Mara is not Jem, or Gaerial or Callista."

"I know but I can't help it," Luke confessed quietly. "I will do what the Force wills."

"No, brother. Do what Luke Skywalker wills. You never know; it could also be what the Force wants too. She hasn't left you yet. She's still on Yavin. The old Mara Jade would have left long ago. The old Mara Jade valued her freedom. She would not have made a commitment to the Jedi or to you."

Luke glanced down at his hands and watched as they shook slightly. "I know. It scares me. I can feel how much she loves me."

"Can't you take a leap of faith? You, who walked into the Death Star and rescued me without a thought for your own safety? You, who still believed there was good in our father when the entire galaxy could not? You, who travelled to the other end of the galaxy when you felt that a friend was in trouble? Mara is the friend who you love more than anyone else. This is more than platonic love you've said so yourself."

"A leap of faith," he echoed, his head turning away from the monitor to follow the direction that Mara had taken.

"Yes, little brother. A leap of faith. You gave her your heart long ago. You took the heart out of your lightsaber. Your lightsaber crystal bought Mara's freedom. The heart of a Jedi is strong - it has to be. The lightsaber is the symbol of the Jedi and you took yours apart for Mara. That is a very strong statement to make to anyone who knows you."

"I know. How did you…?"

"Han guessed."

"Leia…I _do_ love her."

"Then tell her. None of the other Jedi would begrudge you happiness. I would suspect that they all already know how you feel about Mara. There is something about the pair of you when you are together. The Force radiates from you both in this wonderful glow of brilliant light. Let Luke Skywalker, the man, and not the Jedi decide…"

"But we are one and the same," Luke interrupted.

"Trust your feelings, Luke. All I want is for you to be happy. The Force doesn't want you to be unhappy."

Luke stood up and walked away leaving Leia speechless. Had she said too much? For a moment she frowned and then she gave a soft smile and turned her head to gaze at the love of her life who slouched, half-sleeping, in an armchair, an almost empty glass of Corellian Whisky in his hands. A tender smile crossed her face.

"You gave him some good arguments, sweetheart."

Leia disengaged the com and slipped into her husband's arms. "We both have. I just hope he acts this time. He needs her, Han. I don't know what he would become without her."

"We have to rely on his good sense or that rather effective little blaster Mara has up her sleeve. I know he has some sense in him…deep down."

Luke took a deep breath and reached for his centre of balance in the Force. He could feel his love for Mara through the Force and hers for him in return. The Force affected all things and yes, even love itself. He had been a foolish coward and now it was time he put things right. "Mara!" With a sense of purpose he hadn't felt since he'd set out for Elrood to rescue Mara Jade, he walked into the kitchen and, grabbing the startled women, kissed her breathless.

"Luke!"

"No interruptions," he muttered.


	5. Chapter 35

**The Emerald Price Chapter 35**

****

**By Ash Darklighter**

****

**Disclaimer:**- The characters and situations used in this story are the property of George Lucas and Lucasfilm Ltd. I am only using them for some entertainment and will not even make one Republican credit from this endeavour. This is set around eight to ten years after Luke and Mara met each other for the first time. This one is for all the girls on the AA list and of course for Mona – what would I do without you? My thanks also to Niqella and Rhea for their encouragement and invaluable suggestions.

**Kam Solusar's Office**

Kam clicked off his com and turned to the other occupants of the room. They were seated around the oval shaped table ready to begin the weekly staff meeting. "Master Skywalker won't be joining us tonight," he said gravely, but there was a twinkle lurking in his grey eyes. "You heard the gist of our conversation?"

Streen gave a genial, if absent-minded smile. "There have been strange currents in the Force for these past few days. I could read them in the wind and the warmth of the rain."

"All centring around Luke and Mara Jade," Tionne added, her brow furrowed worriedly. "I knew it."

"Who else is so caught up in what the Force is but Luke?" Streen said softly, attuned to the elements around him. "I have heard their voices crying for one another in the Force for many years but lately it has grown stronger. I try so hard to shut out the many voices so I can hear just the few."

"Nothing is wrong I hope?" Tionne asked her husband anxiously. "You have a keener sense for such things than I do."

"I just have the impression that things are about to come to a head with their relationship. Luke is definitely distracted."

"Is this a Force suggestion or just your intuition?" Tionne enquired.

"Both." Her husband's lips twitched into a smile. "To be honest, there is not one member of our community here on Yavin that does not know how Luke regards Mara."

"His eyes follow her," Streen offered musingly, his fingers plucking at the edge of his fuzzy white beard. "But he is afraid to let go of his control. He wants to…"

"It's not an easy thing for any Jedi to do," Kam murmured thoughtfully. "…lose control. Especially for Luke. But this is also about Mara. She's also afraid to lose the control over her own life that she has so recently won. I don't think we realised how hard Mara found it to let others have some say in what she was doing. The legacy of Palpatine runs deep."

"Is it about control or trust?" wondered Streen aloud.

"Mara trusts Luke implicitly. He's one of the few beings that she has always trusted," said Kam.

"But can we rely on her where Luke is concerned?" Tionne asked. "I haven't any doubt now myself but outsiders may…"

Kam sighed. "I suspect at one time, none of us would have trusted Mara not to hurt Luke."

"She would never do that," Streen stated. "When it came to the moment of truth, Mara could not kill Luke. She has a good heart. It's still a little bruised from her early time with Palpatine but Luke will heal it."

"She loves him," Tionne said, a soft look in her pearly eyes.

"As he does her," Streen confirmed. "He has borne much on behalf of the Jedi and deserves some peace and happiness. Perhaps we could give him some space."

"What do you suggest?" Tionne gazed calmly at the wise old man. She was willing to listen to any ideas that might help as she was beginning to think that her former master needed to be shaken hard until he came to his senses. He would have no peace and happiness with Mara Jade until he did. But somehow, Tionne just couldn't quite see Luke and Mara's relationship as being peaceful.

Kam grinned at his wife and nodded slowly. "I think I have an inkling. The tension in the Force has not only been picked up by ourselves but also by our students."

"Force blind people could pick that up," declared Tionne with exasperation. "It has to break soon."

"We need to ensure the Master and Mara have some privacy to er…vent their feelings," Kam hinted suggestively.

"Suppose nothing happens…again?" Tionne demanded. "Although I do think Mara won't let this state of affairs continue for much longer."

"She won't," Streen mumbled. "I can feel it."

"Then I suggest we set up a Force shield. If Mara pushes for a confrontation we will need it."

"Just in case," Tionne agreed. "If nothing happens there's no harm done."

"Something will happen," Kam insisted.

"Yes, I think it will and that's what worries me," Tionne said with a sigh. "I worry that it won't be what we want for him – that she will change her mind at the last minute."

Kam reached across the table and pressed his hand over his wife's. "Don't worry, my love. They will be alright. I can almost touch the anticipation in the air."

"Their union is meant to be," Streen murmured softly. "Let them be undisturbed by _our_ many voices. It is the will of the Force."

Kam nodded. "I agree but even though Luke and Mara's current situation is fascinating, can we return to more mundane subjects and Academy business?"

**Luke Skywalker's quarters**

Mara walked away from the monitor without a backwards glance, leaving Luke to slide into the seat she had vacated and face his sister. She guessed Leia would bombard Luke with the same reproaches she had visited on Mara. She hoped Luke was no more immune to them than Mara herself had been. Leia could be very persistent and in some areas could out-stubborn her brother and that was saying quite a lot. Luke was the most obstinate, intransigent nerf that Mara knew.

"Leia…" Luke's voice muttered helplessly in the other room.

'It's not his fault,' Mara thought, bracing her hands on the galley kitchen counter as she heard him begin to argue with his sister. She peered into the sink as if it could give her the answers she sought. But the two plates they had used earlier, soaking in the mixed solution of water and detergent, gave her no answers.

She heard the raised voices dwindle into murmurs. Miracle of miracles, Luke had managed to placate Leia for the time being – not the easiest of tasks. Mara's mind returned to her own problems – the failure of the man she loved to take a step closer to what could be serious happiness for them both. What if he never could? It would be difficult to accept what happened if it wasn't in their favour. She wasn't being totally selfish - this was for them both. She would remain close to Luke whatever he decided to do. His presence was as necessary to her as life itself. If he rejected her now, she would bide her time and try again. She would never give up trying. But she was under no illusions with regards to the difficulty of her task should Luke continue to prove obdurate.

Luke stood motionless for a second or two, staring at nothing. Slowly he lifted his chin, his purpose growing inside him and took a step towards the kitchen. He could see Mara standing at the sink, facing away from him, her head bowed. There was something in the way she held her body – in the stiffness of her shoulders - as if fearing another rejection from him. For the first time, she looked defeated. Carefully he stretched out with the Force to touch her mind. Her barriers were down; she had no defences left. He'd been a fool but no longer. He took a deep breath and stopped weighing up his every move. Time to let the real Luke Skywalker out of the Jedi Master straightjacket he'd kept him in for so many years. Time to get what he wanted for a change.

"Mara!"

She turned at the sound of his voice as he said her name. Suddenly, he moved swiftly towards her, trapping her against the sink unit, one hand fastening at her waist, the other behind her head, pressing her to him as his head lowered.

He kissed her.

"Luke."

"No interruptions," he muttered.

Startled, she stood almost passively as his mouth moved against hers, his lips firm, scorching her with his touch. This wasn't really happening – was it? Then she couldn't do anything but react to what he was doing to her. Her hands, trapped by his embrace, worked at her side, aching to touch and caress the man pressing his body against hers - the man kissing her with such fervour. He kissed her breathless until her head whirled and she lost track of her surroundings.

"Farmboy?" Mara uttered faintly between the feverish kisses being planted on her receptive lips, her liberated hands moving up to grasp the front of his tunic.

"Ssh!" he whispered, his mouth closing over hers, his tongue darting inside to deepen the salute. Pulling her closer, Luke's hands began to wander as he kissed her passionately.

"Luke!" Mara wrenched her lips from his with difficulty, her breath emerging in little, short, shocked gasps. "What the hell is this all about?"

Luke's face flushed crimson as his eyes skittered away from the fire in hers.

"Skywalker!" she demanded, noting that he was as affected by the kiss as much as she had been, his breath coming out in quick little puffs.

His eyes flicked to hers and immediately darted away again. "Didn't you like it?"

"Of course I did," she snapped, trying to quench the fire that had begun to rage inside her all because of a few kisses. Force, that man could kiss. "But that wasn't what I asked."

"I thought it was what you wanted," he whispered, his face betraying his agony. "I thought you…"

"It was…it _is_," she answered fervently responding to his pain, her green eyes vivid in her pale face. "But it's not enough. I've said this to you before. I want more than just kisses – I want it all and I have to know that you understand..."

"All?" he echoed.

"All," she replied firmly.

"What if you can't get it?" he questioned shakily, his mind reeling. Mara was fuelling his fantasies and he was only human. He'd seen them wrapped together in his dreams. He'd seen them rising and falling in the act of becoming one person. He'd hidden these desires deep so that no one would know they were there but he knew. What Mara did not understand was that he could only give his all…otherwise it was all nothing. He wouldn't survive a half-romance. Not with her. He couldn't love her and then lose her.

Mara could sense the wheels turning in Luke's mind. She had the feeling that the Jedi Master was regaining control of his emotions and she wondered if that would change how he was acting. He still had his impulsive streak. The kiss had been risked with the finesse of a seasoned warrior-male, not a carefree boy with only his talent and a sense of adventure to his name. However, she wanted the whole man – the warrior and the boy-adventurer - and he had to want her with his mind as well as his heart and body. She smiled tremulously. "If I can't get what I want, I shall stay close hoping that he…_you_," she amended, "…will change your mind."

There was a silence as they eyed one another carefully. Luke's measured glance assessed the woman before him. She was strong in the Force, decided in her opinions, stubborn, strong, brave and beautiful and she _still _affirmed that she loved him despite his stupid behaviour. "You're not going to leave, are you?"

"No. My place is with the Jedi and you."

"Oh." Luke was momentarily at a loss for words.

"I won't change my mind," Mara said, lifting her chin with a defiance Luke found enchanting. This was his woman, acting in the manner he loved best.

"What if I asked you to leave – told you to go?"

Mara reached inside herself to the place where the Force existed in her heart and let her instinct guide her. Her eyes fastened intently on his as she said quietly, "Then I would go." She raised her hand to stop him from interrupting her. "No, I'm not finished." She glared at him in the manner of old. "Will you listen? I don't need you getting the wrong picture inside that nerf brain of yours because you weren't listening properly. I would go," she repeated. "But I would return the exact same day probably within minutes of you telling me to go. If you banished me from your side again I would still return on the morrow. You're not getting rid of me. I would always come back to you," she declared, all the while wondering what he was thinking, and decided it was time to let her actions dictate their future path.

Taking her courage in her hands once more, Mara stepped closer to Luke and brushed her lips lightly across his in a teasing, tantalising salute. "Luke…you saved me in so many ways and I'm not wasting any more time on my regrets. We should have been doing this a long time ago. It's time for us."

Luke closed his eyes letting her nearness fill his senses.

"Trust your feelings, Luke." Mara murmured into his ear the words he'd so often heard from Yoda and Obi-Wan, her breath warm against his neck. "Listen to your heart."

Luke opened the link he shared with the beautiful red-head and smiled as she gasped. The strength of their union in the Force truly became apparent for the first time. Mara smiled in response as her hand curved around his shoulder, finding the back of his neck where his hair grew just a little too long, and pulled his head down towards her. Luke's breath caught in his throat as a flicker of fire ignited inside him at her lightest touch. Consigning his fate to whatever the Force decided for him, Luke's hands snaked around her slim body as he began to kiss her in return. He kissed her with the knowledge that this was it. There was no turning back this time. Force, he had no desire to stop. Let the rest of Yavin deal with any crises that arrived.

But even as she had her ultimate desire finally willing to commit to a definite course of action, something within Mara couldn't believe that fate, or the Force, would reward her without more trouble or pain and she drew away. "Can you look me in the eyes, Farmboy, and deny that you love me?"

Luke groaned silently as he tried to quell his body's escalating urges. She had him there.

Mara pressed her advantage. "Could you say the words…lie to me?"

Luke moved his head from side to side seeking some way to keep his fading secret. It was in vain – he could not.

"You cannot say it. You cannot deny what you feel for me."

Luke's head dipped.

At his silent admission of guilt, Mara tightened her hold around him and pressed her curvaceous form against his, inciting him to wildness.

He could have lost her forever back on Elrood. How could he have survived without this woman in his life? The scent of her hair and her skin sent the last vestiges of sanity spinning from his mind. Even so, he tried a last gasp at holding onto his solitary life. "Mara…if we don't stop this right now…"

"Who wants to stop?" she muttered between kisses.

"I don't know," he replied feverishly, as he leant her against the kitchen counter. "Not me." She was right. He could not deny his feelings any longer. He loved her.

Hands began to wander, careless caresses turning deliberate, mouths connecting to skin until Luke's hips began to pulse unconsciously against Mara's. "Not here," she said breathlessly. From somewhere, Mara gathered her wandering senses and, with a smile that promised much, stepped away from Luke, her hand extended towards him. "Come," she invited sensuously.

Like a man half drugged, Luke immediately obeyed her command and by the inexplicably difficult task of placing one foot in front of the other managed to follow Mara from the kitchen, through the lounge and into his bedroom. Once there, he seemed to come to life again, glancing around the room as if he had never seen the surroundings properly before, refusing to let his eyes focus on the large bed that was waiting so patiently for him to fulfil all of Mara's desires.

"Luke…" she whispered. "Make love to me."

His head turned slowly towards her, the blue of his eyes intensifying as they made contact with the vivid green of her own. "Yes," he said and it was as if the weight of the galaxy had fallen from his shoulders.

Just that one simple word made Mara's heart soar.

Force, all he wanted to do was claim her quickly. She was his – he knew it. Mara must have sensed his thoughts through their bond, for her head lifted proudly and a strange expression coloured her green gaze. Discarding her carefully planned seduction, Mara impulsively stepped forward, her face raised for his kiss, her arms reaching to wrap around him. For a moment there was something tender, something more profound between them until she closed the gap and nestled against him. When naked skin finally met naked skin, the galaxy, the Jedi and all that they thought they were disappeared leaving just a man and a woman and their primal need to mate. Finally Luke Skywalker's much vaunted control shattered.

"Force, Mara," he breathed. "I nearly lost you…you could have died. I would do…would have done…anything to stop that from happening."

"And you did," Mara soothed, even though her very blood was raging at his touch.

Luke leaned his forehead against hers. She'd been part of him for so long. How could he have considered being without her? It was sheer madness on his part. He hadn't realised how much he loved her until he'd almost lost her forever. "Mara…" he said, his voice so quiet that she had to strain to hear his words. "I couldn't lie to you. Not when I…"

Mara placed her fingers against his lips. "Ssh!" she said. "I know."

"You do, don't you?" His voice sounded surprised yet resigned. She could see through him as easily as a Vors Crystal tower. He had to have her – he could resist her lure no longer. His hands moved from her waist to clasp her leather clad buttocks.

Mara's heart began to beat faster as his strong hands began to knead and squeeze. "When I found a lightsaber crystal belonging to someone in a location he was never supposed to have been anywhere near, I admit to being suspicious and it seemed like something you would do for a friend. So yes, I knew."

He kissed her again hungrily. The more he did so, the easier it became. His kisses became more demanding, demonstrating his need for her as it finally began to roam free of the tight constraints he'd placed upon himself and his masculine desires. The Jedi Master finally gave way to the man.

Mara matched him as only she could.

"How could you let Lando and Karrde take all the credit?" Mara demanded, breathing hard, her heart beating wildly as she worked at the fastener of his black pants. "I called for _you_."

"I thought you loved him."

"I never loved _him._ How could I - when I love you?"

"I came for you…I will always…come…for…you…" He punctuated his words with soft, open-mouthed kisses.

"But I didn't know…" Mara's voice rose.

"You did." He soothed her fretful tones with a kiss. "No other man could have found you in time. You would not have accepted the touch of another man. It _had_ to be me."

Mara reached for the memory in Luke's mind and saw how she had almost instantly responded to Luke's touch despite his disguise. He was right.

As if by unspoken mutual consent, they stepped apart and removed boots and pants leaving Luke in his usual clinging black undershorts, the bulge in front showing how much he wanted her, and Mara in one of the seductive lacy trifles that had so affected the Jedi Master when found in amongst his own laundry. Luke eyes darkened almost to navy at the sight of the woman he loved. Removing their final items of clothing, they closed together, easing onto the bed, kissing, touching, and sighing as they stretched out together, the heat radiating from their entangled legs seeming hot enough to scorch the bed linen. Finally there was nothing between them – only skin.

Lifting a shaking hand up to her face, he traced the graceful contours, brushing a lock of red-gold hair away from the smooth perfection of her cheek. He kissed her deeply, drinking in the sweetness of her lips and then moved gradually down to her breasts, learning every inch of her perfect body. His clever mouth found her one of her proud, rosy nipples, licking and suckling until Mara's back arched and her voice cried out from the sheer, unbearable pleasure of what he was doing to her. "Don't stop," she moaned softly. "Don't ever stop."

With sensation spiralling within and between them, there was no room for any part of the galaxy but the two of them.

It was as if the Force within them was magnified. The light of the Force was a warm, living entity and it finished its task of joining Luke Skywalker fully to Mara Jade. This was no ephemeral tie. This would be a union like no other – true-mated Jedi bonded for their lifetimes.

With a shuddering cry, Luke Skywalker emptied his seed into Mara's receptive body as she reached her matching pinnacle of fulfilment with a keening wail.

Silence. Only the sound of their breathing as they fought to gain some semblance of calm. But how could they after such a…rapturous happening?

Luke reached out blindly and entwined his fingers with Mara's. "Force, Mara…"

"I know…I love you, Luke."

"I…love you," he whispered, his heart in his eyes as he pulled her close.

"Tired," she managed to say.

Luke gave a wry chuckle. "I'm not surprised." He grabbed the quilt and pulled it over their cooling bodies. "Sleep…"

"Mmm," she agreed.

This had to be one of the most profound experiences of her life, Mara admitted to herself as she opened her eyes, wondering if last night's rapture had been a dream. But it was no dream – everything had been real. She was still lying wrapped in Luke's embrace as if he couldn't let her go and he was still fast asleep.

She gazed thoughtfully at the sleeping face of her lover, seeing for the first time the dark circles under his blue eyes, the more pronounced facial structure. This had all been a tremendous strain on him. He would never bear the load alone again. She would make sure of it.

She couldn't wait any longer. She eyed the fresher door resenting the necessity of leaving Luke but there were some things even she couldn't ignore. Mara slipped carefully from his arms trying not to wake him, her heart jumping into her throat as alone, his face suddenly showed distress even in sleep and his arms immediately began searching for her.

"I won't be long," she murmured soothingly. "Ssh…sleep."

At the sound of her voice, Luke's restless movements stilled as he relaxed back into slumber.

He was pulled from the most wonderful dream by an intense feeling he couldn't describe. Luke opened his eyes and blinked, gazing sleepily around the bedchamber, his usual morning alertness lacking. Something felt different. He felt different. He felt as if something uncommon had happened to him. '_Mara!' _he thought as memory returned to him. He turned his head, his hand stretching out to where Mara had been but the bed was empty. It had been no dream. Last night had been rapturous - he'd almost been transported to another galaxy - but now she had gone… '_Steady, Skywalker'_, he advised himself as he felt the first stirrings of panic. She couldn't have been gone long. Her place beside him was still warm and he could hear the shower running.

_His_ shower.

If she'd been so keen to escape from him she would not be in his fresher using his shower. Luke lay back on his pillows castigating himself for his inability to believe yet again. Yoda had chastised him time and time again and still he fell into the old habits. She said that she loved him and that she would never willingly leave him.

_'And I won't.'_

Luke sat up abruptly; her voice was ringing loudly inside his head. He _had_ opened their link fully last night. He could feel her vibrant presence within him. His hand came up slowly, rubbing across his face. He had meant to be strong but he was weak and craved the companionship of the woman he loved. Yet, in his weakness came strength. Mara and he were meant to be together. Perhaps together they were stronger in the Force. The way of the Force was not a solitary one. He was just about to take a new path.

The shower stopped running and Luke winced as his fresher door slammed open. He could feel the strong emotions rolling off the naked woman stalking towards him. Luke gulped and froze. Her water-darkened red-gold hair clung wetly to her still damp body. She was a glorious study in cream and pink. The greatest of the reputed Alderaanian artists couldn't have done her beauty justice in any medium.

Mara clenched her fists as she headed towards the sleepy looking man in the bed - although he appeared to be waking up fast. She had received the thoughts that he'd broadcast through their shared bond loud and clear. This new, enhanced reception between them went two ways. "I don't say things that I don't mean, Skywalker. You, of all people, should know that."

"Mara…" Luke's eyes devoured her body and Mara found it almost impossible to hold onto her anger. What could she do to make him truly believe? Her own emerald gaze fastened on Luke's face, down over his muscular chest until it came to where the quilt dipped low against his hips. Mara's tongue darted from her mouth to moisten her suddenly dry lips and Luke's eyes turned navy. He could feel her sudden arousal as it spiked through their bond.

In an instant he pounced and she was lying underneath him on the bed. Mara had forgotten how deceptively fast he could be when he wanted.

"I'm not properly dry," she protested as his lips started nibbling on the sweet flesh at her collar bone.

"Don't care," he mumbled.

"I'm mad at you." The words emerged fast and a little breathless. She had meant to be strong but the moment he touched her, the last of her ire vanished. In typical Luke fashion he was holding on to his freedom to the bitter end. She wouldn't have him any other way.

"Don't care," he said again, his lips finding her breast and teasing her nipple to hardness. Mara gasped as heat travelled swiftly to the moist feminine place between her thighs.

"This issue needs to be sorted out," she managed to force out.

"What issue?"

"I'm not leaving you."

"Good." Luke found a particularly sensitive spot and watched in amazement as Mara's whole body arched with pleasure and then relaxed, shuddering.

"Make love to me?" she pleaded.

"That's what I'm doing, Jade," he snapped, as he pulled himself up her body, peppering her skin with firm angry kisses that gentled as he moved until he pressed her against him and stared directly into her green eyes. "You're mine," he whispered, the intense expression on his face changing to one of awe and delight. "You're really mine. The Force has blessed me…"

"Of course, I'm yours," Mara muttered saucily. "You bought me as a pleasure slave."

"Mara…" Luke didn't want to be reminded of that.

"Am I worth the price?" She wriggled against him savouring his tortured groan.

Luke closed his eyes. "You know, Mara, I would never…"

"I think we could enjoy it, my prince." Her hand reached down and grasped his maleness. "Your pleasure is also mine."

"Mara, please," he said removing her hand from his body. Luke stared deep into her bewitching green eyes. "I only did that because it was the only way I could get you free without endangering the lives of everyone else around us. I abhor the practise of slavery and I wanted to free every single being held with you but as Feenus Adremetis pointed out, 'It was not my fight.' When I think what they could have done to you…" He broke off, his voice trembling. "My lightsaber crystal was the only thing I had that was worth enough to free you. I could build another crystal, but you are irreplaceable."

"But Farmboy," she said. "A lightsaber is the symbol of the Jedi. The weapon is more than it appears."

"An example of a civilised age – of the Jedi's history?" he queried quietly. "Yes, it is. None of it would have mattered without you. I would have lost _you_ and that is unthinkable."

"I don't understand. You put me ahead of the Jedi and yet, you deny our love." She ran a finger across his chest and watched as he shivered. "This Jedi had decided that he should not know love. But you put that aside to rescue me. I was not a crisis of galactic importance. You came for one woman.

"The lightsaber is only an outward sign. To be a Jedi and accept the Force is more than just wielding a lightsaber. That is a lesson I learned. But I'm not denying our love. I can't…not anymore. I cannot lose you. You are the only woman I would do such a thing for. I love you so much. You are part of me."

Mara swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. "Then marry me." The words emerged as a croak.

"What!" Luke thought that his heart had ceased beating. Surely he was hearing things? There was a silence.

Her chin lifted proudly. "Marry me," she said more boldly.

Luke's eyes widened. "Are you serious? I would in a heartbeat…" He frowned. "Are you sure that's what you want?"

"Would I ask you if I didn't?"

"No…I guess not."

"Then will you?"

Luke rose up on his elbow and stared down at Mara. "Do I get time to think about it?" he asked, a smile playing about his well-shaped lips.

"No you do not," she muttered. "I want an answer now."

"But Mara…" he said, a twinkle in his eyes. "Are you ready to take such a step? I mean…marriage and all it entails."

"Someone has to keep you under control," she retorted, her lips forming a perfect pout that Luke ached to kiss away. "Who else would have you?"

"Now, there's a question." Luke smiled tenderly at the woman in his arms. With a shaking finger he traced the soft curve of her cheek. "Are you sure?"

"Farmboy…I cannot imagine my life without you. I would have no life without you. From the day we first met…"

"And you swore to kill me."

"And I swore that I would kill you," she muttered. "I failed that task. I wasn't meant to be a deadly assassin after all – at least, not _your_ assassin."

"But what a way to go," he said lightly, dropping a kiss upon her nose.

"It's not funny, Luke. I could have succeeded. I was a good assassin. One of the best."

"What about a Jedi Knight?" he asked. "I think you could be one of the best there too."

The effect of Mara's smile felt as if both Tatooine's twin suns had just shone into Luke's eyes, dazzling him with her joy. "Got that covered."

"You have, have you?" Luke's mouth curved in response.

"The head of the Jedi Order himself, confirmed that status upon me."

"I think he's still upon you," Luke mumbled, taking a sudden indrawn breath as Mara wriggled underneath him. "Mara…" he warned, as his body instantly reacted to her teasing movements.

"You won't believe that I mean what I say unless we make it legal," Mara stated, her own body affected by her proximity to Luke's.

"No, that's not true," Luke denied vehemently. "I trust you. I still can't believe that you actually love me…We don't have to…"

"Will you stop running yourself down, Skywalker!" Mara exclaimed. "You are kind, brave, handsome…"

"Please…" Luke's face coloured.

"Stubborn, argumentative, reckless…" She half closed her eyelids and peered up at him through her lashes. "I could ask you the same question, although I'm not so sure you really want to marry me. You say you're in love with me."

"I am in love with you. I've been in love with you for years," he burst out and twisted around to lie on his back.

"For years?" Mara sat up, holding the quilt to her breasts in an instinctive gesture of modesty. "And you've done nothing about it?"

"Of course I haven't," he said, sounding tired. "I had your friendship and your trust. I didn't want to complicate the issue by adding the burden of love. You weren't ready to hear it from me then. You had other…" His lips clamped mutinously together, his eyes turning to a stormy grey as he tried not to think of Mara with other men.

"Maybe I wasn't but how did you know I wasn't ready?"

He turned his head to look at her. "I know you too well, Jade. The same as you do me."

"I thought I did."

"You do," he murmured. "When did you realise you loved me?" Luke asked softly.

"It was after one of our practise saber fights," she said. "I arrived to find you in the middle of your warm up routine. It was beautiful to watch – such grace and power. I was still carrying your lightsaber crystal in my pocket and when I touched it I saw us…"

"You saw _us_?"

Mara lay down beside him and curved into his side. "I saw us tangled together making love. It seemed so right and I wanted it to be like that. When I opened my eyes you were standing in front of me calling my name. That's when I knew it for certain. I guess in some ways I've always known."

"You challenged me on the whereabouts of my saber," Luke recalled.

"And it was in pieces under a cloth on your workbench. I'd already checked, although I didn't need to. I knew for sure that you had lost your crystal and were attempting to create a new focusing jewel."

"I never thought you would find out," he murmured. "I never wanted you to relive that experience. Hell, I never wanted any harm to come to you…ever."

"You were pushing me away."

"I had to for your own good, Mara. I'm not the greatest catch in the galaxy. My record with the female of the species is deplorable…"

"They weren't right for you and I am." Her voice showed the scorn she felt for the other woman who had loved and lost Luke Skywalker. "They weren't strong enough or determined enough to match you. I'm just as stubborn as you are and I'm no weak-willed Core aristocrat. I've had to fight for everything I've got and that includes you."

"I couldn't help falling in love with you," Luke whispered. "I still wonder if I'm tempting fate by doing so."

"We will make our own destiny, Farmboy," Mara affirmed, her face solemn. "I have seen it. I carried the lightsaber crystal everywhere with me and I used to touch it for comfort – perhaps because it was yours. That day…"

"We both saw the images of the prince and his slave girl?"

"My fingers were curled around the stone and because of our close proximity…"

"The Force called to us." Luke nodded his head with understanding.

"My body had already recognised my feelings for you, Luke, even if my mind had not. That was the day it caught up. That was when I recognised I could call to you with greater ease than I could to Palpatine. I was aware of your presence with me always. I always associated a relationship or marriage with control and loss of freedom yet with you I felt safe but free to be and do what I wanted." Her smile wobbled a little. "Then I overheard you talking to Han and you admitted that you loved me."

"You heard?" Luke's mouth formed an 'oh' of comprehension.

She nodded. "It wasn't like the Luke Skywalker I knew to be so cautious. I couldn't understand why you hadn't said or done anything."

"I was afraid. I still am. I don't want to lose you from my life."

"You shouldn't be afraid. Fear is a dark side emotion. You have no cause to fear anything if it concerns me."

"I know but I didn't want to take the chance that I would lose you. I thought a platonic friendship would keep you in my life."

"You won't lose me," Mara said confidently. "I am a Jedi Knight and if you go on any other missions, I'm going with you. I still remember how badly you were bruised after that last 'diplomatic encounter'. Diplomacy was the last thing on your attackers' minds."

"I can take care of myself," Luke countered.

"Sure you can," Mara retorted. "That's why you have a running supply of bacta…"

"I do not!"

"I'm still coming with you. As your wife I will have the right." She kissed him sweetly. "You have a class in half an hour."

"Mara!" Luke was taken aback at her rash predictions for their future. It had been years since he'd considered the possibility that one day he would have a wife.

"And I expect a formal answer to my proposal by this evening or…"

"Or what?"

"I get Leia and Han involved."

"Can I tell you now?"

"No."

"But I've made my decision and Han and Leia will only interfere in ways that neither you or I will like. I love my sister and my brother-in-law but I'm under no illusions about what they might do."

"Meditate on it."

"Jade!" Luke's beleaguered body had had enough and with a groan he pulled her to him and began to make love to her.

"But Luke…you have a class," Mara protested weakly as his mouth found her nipple, laving it with special attention.

"So I'll be late."

"Late…Yes…" Mara's protests drifted away with the power of his touch.

Unable to concentrate, let alone meditate on anything for the entire day, it was with a sense of relief that Luke finished his last class and headed back to his quarters to dress in his best Jedi tunic, pants and black knee length boots. Moving quickly through his bedroom he opened his precious boa-wood trunk and searched for the gift he'd meant to give Mara when she'd finally achieved her knighthood. Perhaps it would do for a betrothal gift instead. He had refrained from presenting it to her previously because he had thought it was the kind of gift a man gives his lover.

He had never, after his last disastrous affair, expected to be considering marrying anyone. Callista's departure had savagely torn from him his hopes for a home and a loving family. Mara was different. He could admit that quite easily but couldn't quite see her fulfilling the traditional role of a wife and homemaker. But then, he could never be the perfect husband either. He wouldn't want Mara to be anything but the woman he had fallen in love with. He didn't want her to change. The conventional relationship would end, as had his others, in bitterness and despair. He needed the part warrior, part sage, all-woman and Jedi Knight that made up Mara Jade.

He had wanted Mara, he realised, now that he was being honest with himself, as his lover for a very long time but his fear of rejection and failure had held him back. At her graduation – the most important time of her life, he had presented her with an impersonal set of holo-books on Jedi History. The look in her eyes when she'd received his gift had made him shift uneasily. It was as if she knew he had intended to give her something else.

"Ah…" he said with satisfaction as his hand closed on a carved bantha tusk box. Flipping it open he gazed at a necklace he'd made himself years before. The necklace was made of slivers of emerald green illum wrapped within gold. Luke had discovered that the shards of green polished stone matched her eyes when she was happy. He scooped it up carefully, noting the small pulse it gave out in the Force and placed it in a small pouch before stowing it on his belt.

He had noticed that the rest of his colleagues were eyeing him carefully all day but not by so much as a word did he let them know of the happiness and trepidation lightening and darkening his heart. He had to settle his mind and see things with more clarity. She had told him to meditate and he would. Luke closed his eyes and began to meditate on his possible future with the beautiful red-head. After an hour he opened his eyes surprised at how quickly the time had passed. The Force approved of this, that much was clear, but it had to be his total decision. Luke wondered if he would have debated for so long if it hadn't been for the Force and his position as head of the Jedi Order. Was he so full of his own importance that he was frightened to make mistakes? He should have claimed Mara Jade long ago.

Luke took a last assessment of his person, brushing a piece of fluff from the front of his tunic, before heading to the dining room where he hoped he would meet Mara for supper. As he entered the hall, he could see her hair shining out like a beacon across the room. He reached out with the Force to alert her to his presence but she had already felt him enter and her head lifted.

Kam Solusar also felt a ripple in the Force as Luke entered the dining room, the Jedi Master's blue gaze seeking out Mara. He watched carefully, seeking signs that the previous evening's happenings had made a difference between the pair.

Mara's eyes met Luke's and she smiled. There was nothing else that marked out a distinct change in their relationship but Kam could feel the difference. A new closeness was clear between Luke and the Jedi's newest knight, even to the most unobservant of beings. He smiled at his wife. "I think they are going to be fine."

Tionne's pearly gaze gleamed with silent mirth. "I think so, too."

"Well?" Mara said as she and Luke exited the dining room.

"Well what?"

"Was it my imagination or were all the Jedi present watching us?" Mara asked dryly.

Luke grinned, stretching out his hand and capturing hers. "They were watching us," he said. "Very closely."

"I don't know if that was really the answer I wanted to hear," Mara muttered, her face breaking into an unwilling smile.

"They couldn't have felt us…you know…" He stuttered to a halt, his face flushing.

"Experience the power of Force-enhanced sexual intercourse?" Mara put in, her smile wicked. "With what we generated last night, Farmboy, I suspect they could have sensed us on Coruscant."

"Um…no. I put up a shield as did Kam, Streen and Tionne."

"What!" Mara couldn't help feeling a little relieved yet somewhat put out that Luke had been rational enough to think of it and not as totally caught up in the rapture as she had been.

Luke lifted his hand and caught Mara's chin, whispering softly, "I was totally lost in the rapture we created, Mara. Never think anything different."

"How…? Oh…our link."

"Yes, Jade. And it was more than anything I've ever experienced. If we were as sexually explosive as I suspected we could be I had to do something and believe me, my love, it wasn't easy. I didn't want the whole moon to know our business."

"I think they had a pretty good idea," Mara said with a sigh.

"But they don't know the whole truth, do they? How you seduced me…" Luke chuckled as Mara placed her hand across his mouth. He kissed her palm and then dipped his head to kiss her sweetly smiling mouth. "Come on." Luke stepped away from her and held out his hand once more. They walked towards their quarters savouring the simple pleasure of being with one another until he stopped outside the door. "I wanted to give you this when you became a Jedi Knight but I thought it was too intimate."

"What is it?" Mara fingered the tiny black velvet pouch remembering the rather impersonal set of Jedi history scrolls he'd presented to her on their return to Yavin after he'd conferred the rank of knight upon her and Ix Io.

"Open it and see," Luke said quietly.

"Will I like it?" Mara wondered.

"I hope so," he said as he waved his hand over the door control. It opened with an almost silent hiss.

She pulled eagerly at the little drawstring tying the bag closed, her female heart beating fast at the thought of Luke buying her a present he thought personal. She dipped her fingers into the bag and caught hold of the fragile chain. Luke had bought her jewellery. She drew out the necklace and stared at it and then felt the care and the love in the construction of the object. He had _made_ it for her and she'd never seen anything that was so beautiful or felt so right. This made it far more precious. The colour of the green illum chips wrapped in gold glittered in the entrance light from their quarters. She traced one of the stones and felt it pulse through the Force. "Luke, this is…"

"I'm buying you back," he stated, not looking at her.

Mara could feel his nervousness through the Force. "You are _what_?"

Luke took a deep breath. "You earned your freedom by becoming a Jedi and returning my crystal to me but I want you. I don't want to be without you - ever." He drew her inside and the door closed behind them. "I know that our love is beyond price but…It's a feeble gesture, I know but…"

Mara's eyes widened as she glanced at Luke. Her once reluctant lover had gone into overdrive. He stood in the entrance hall shifting nervously from foot to foot.

"I'm buying you back," he repeated.

"Can I examine it properly first before I decide?" Mara drawled slowly leading the way into the lounge area – all the time conscious of the almost imperceptible pulsing of the Force and her heart hammering inside her chest in tandem.

"I thought any woman liked jewellery," Luke quipped shakily. "You were the one who wanted to marry me."

"Why would I want to do that?" Mara stared at the fragile work of art in her hands. "It's beautiful," she murmured. "Where did you get it?"

"I've been collecting the illum chips for years - especially the green ones. They match your eyes. I had Leia's jeweller help me to make it up for you in a design of mine."

"I would like to have it," Mara admitted, lifting her head to stare at him.

"What about the price?"

"I would stay with you without it," Mara said softly. "I love you, Skywalker."

"Luke," he said.

"I love you, Luke," she amended, her eyes glittering in the exact same emerald shade as the crystals making up the delicate necklace she held in her hand. "Could you?" She held up the chain.

Luke took the necklace and fastened it around her slender neck. "It looks perfect," he said gruffly. "Do you want my answer?"

"Answer?" Mara queried.

"Earlier on, you asked me a question." Luke's lips found and caressed the sensitive pulse at her throat, then tracked their way to her delicate earlobe where he bit gently. Mara shuddered with pleasure.

"I did? Of course, I did. What question?" Mara found it hard to think as his arms closed around her.

"You proposed to me," Luke whispered, as his mouth found the soft, sweet curve of her neck.

"I did? Yes…I believe I know your answer," she managed to say, her voice husky. "You have an answer?"

"It's _'yes'_, by the way," he mumbled as his hands began to seek out the fastenings of her clothes.

Mara began to breathe heavily. He was too good at this. "If you had said 'no', Skywalker, I would have shown you no mercy, tied you down and made love to you until you changed your mind."

Luke lifted his head, fire blazing in his eyes. "I am open to persuasion," he muttered. "I can change my mind again."

"Oh, no you don't," Mara said warningly. "I love you and you love me and we're getting married as soon as Karrde, Solo and your sister can get out here for the ceremony."

"Sounds like a good bargain," Luke whispered as he kissed her soundly. "The galaxy can do without us for a while."

"I agree but I hope Kam and Tionne are remembering to shield tonight," Mara murmured as Luke lifted her into his arms and bore her off to bed.

**Epilogue – several months later**

"I was beginning to think that this would never happen," Han said quietly into his wife's ear as they watched Mara Jade finally marry Luke Skywalker.

"If I had insisted on a Coruscant wedding they would never have married at all," Leia beamed as her brother sent a wave of love and happiness in her direction.

"It couldn't have been any one other than Jade," Han pronounced loftily.

"No. He didn't love the others enough."

"Yes, I agree but more importantly, Mara loved him enough back and had the nerves of durasteel ready to deal with the Kid."

"This was inevitable, wasn't it?" Talon Karrde strolled towards the Solos, a glass of wine in his hand.

"You thought so too, Karrde?" Leia said.

"It could only have been death and destruction or love and marriage," the smuggler chief pronounced.

"I heard that," came the indignant voice of Mara Jade Skywalker.

"He's probably right, my love," Luke whispered into her ear as he slid his arm around her slender waist. "We'd better go."

"Go?" Mara blinked.

"Yup." Luke's smile was just a little smug. "Small matter of our honeymoon."

"Lead on, husband," Mara said jokingly.

The rest of the company tried not to watch as the Jedi Master and his bride slipped from the great temple and disappeared.

"Where are they going?" asked someone.

"I haven't the faintest idea," Leia admitted. "Luke's been very close-mouthed about their destination."

"Quite right, too." Kam Solusar glided towards the Solos. He gave his wife a secret smile. He and Tionne knew where Luke and Mara were going. He'd arranged for complete privacy around Luke and Mara's quarters.

"Do they suspect we're still on planet?"

"Don't think so, or my sister would be visiting us sooner rather than later."

"Tonight!" Mara exclaimed, half in horror, half in jest.

"No, not even Leia would come anywhere near us tonight." He winked mischievously at her. "I need more than one night to make love to my bride properly. In fact, I don't know if I will ever tire of her."

"You'd better not," Mara threatened amiably, but her words held hidden promise of things to come.

Luke ambled onto the balcony and ran a gentle finger across the dark red petals of one of the climbing roses framing the doorway. "I kept the flower you left for me."

"What flower…oh…You kept it?"

Yes, it's between the pages of one of the books in our bedchamber.

Mara was stunned. "I never would have thought you would do something like that – so romantic."

"I can be as romantic as anyone," Luke protested.

"I know, Mara said curving herself against him. "It's one of the things I love about you, Farmboy. You really mean every little gesture and that is so special to me. Talking of romance…" She let her voice drift off.

"I love you," Luke said tenderly as he took her hand and led her into the bedchamber.

"I know."

"Mara…"

"Yes?"

"The price I paid for you?"

Emerald eyes widened at his temerity. "Yes, Master Skywalker," she drawled warningly.

"Worth every crystal…_Mistress _Skywalker."

Mara wound her arms around him and raised her face for his kiss. "I love you," she said softly. Then there was no more conversation - only the sighs of lovers as they became one. Somewhere in the vast eddies of time and space, a ripple gentled and smoothed. The Force approved.

**The End**


End file.
